At the Point of her Dagger
by Emmy the Writer
Summary: AU ShizNat: Blind to the consequences, killer-for-hire Natsuki has killed the king of Windbloom and run off with his daughter, Shizuru. Now, she is embroiled in a race to nowhere against her friends and her enemies, who seek to destroy all memory of her.
1. Chapter 1

This fic was spawned from my incessant search for an MMORPG which is free and playable on mac

This fic was spawned from my incessant search for an MMORPG which is free and playable on mac.

Disclaimer: I own no characters and/or scenarios from Mai HiME/Otome. If I did, it would already be a H-game.

Chapter 1- Daggers and dancing

In the fair city of Windbloom, peace and trade flourished. It was one of the three principal cities of the Allied Clans, along with Aires and Zipang. Many times a day did boots trample along the whitewashed pavements, across the canals and in the squares, some hurrying to appointments, others shouting out the items for sale, and some even riding great dignified mounts, heading to the keep. The cry of gulls and the crisp morning air seemed to paint the city as the perfect place, with its pure white stone houses and neat blue roofs.

Yes, Windbloom was a city of heroes. Mighty warriors, powerful mages, holy priests and disciplined paladins asserted the rule of the gods of light all around the place.

If you happened to be walking out of the bank and past the auction house at around eleven o'clock, you may have caught a glimpse of a somewhat haggard young man in a shabby set of plate armor, who, after hastily stuffing some grubby scrolls into his saddlebags, mounted his steed and cantered off towards the other prefecture of Windbloom. One might have also noticed the worried look on his face as he turned to check over his shoulder far too regularly. His spiky black hair did nothing to cover the growing amount of precipitation on his brow, and his palms were sweaty, barely gripping his horse's reins properly.

He came to an abrupt stop outside a small shady inn; set back in a small alleyway, so only those who knew where it already was could see it. A small, tarnished sign hanging over the door had a picture of an apple with a dagger trough the centre, and the words 'The Poisoned Apple' were just discernable if you looked carefully enough. The warrior pushed open the door, which let out a loud creak, and stepped through the wall of smoky haze into the bar. Timidly walking up to the barman, a tall, imposing man with a stained apron on looked down at him disapprovingly, grunting to indicate that the knight could order a drink.

"A-ale, please," the knight stuttered, wondering why the stains of the barman's apron looked so very much like bloodstains. Putting down the tankard that he had been wiping with a cloth that looked as though it had been all the way through a horse's digestive system, the barman took another goblet from the shelves and filled it with ale.

"Thirty silver, that'll be," he asked, holding out his huge, dirty hand to receive his payment. The knight hastily shoved the coins into it and scurried off to the corner.

His dark eyes were continuously flitting around, searching and hoping that nobody knew he was here. The door opened again, and soundlessly a cloaked figure entered. The warrior saw it immediately; the practiced causality, the ethereal gait, the constantly knife-edged way that they held themselves. This was his contact. From whence she came he knew not, but he had fallen in love with her the moment she had been sent to do a job for him.

"What is it the gulls cry in the morning breeze?"

"Entombed we are, within our own paradise,"

"Good."

The knight pushed himself upright on his chair and took a swig of beer, hoping to seem manly. All this did, however, was cause the cloaked girl's face to twist in disgust.

"Get on with it then, girl. I haven't all day, you know! I'm a busy man," he joked, leaning over the table.

"Very busy, of course, _sir. _Busy drinking and bargaining in the auction house, methinks," that sneer again. "I have the information you asked for."

"Jolly good! Hand it over, then!"

"I think not. Where is my payment? You still owe me the two and ten gold from last time,"

"Payment, payment, right-o. Let me see- ah, dang! Sorry, I appear to have left my main purse in the bank of Aries… oh dear me!"

"Just so you know… you're trying too hard. And about the money; if you don't have it by when we meet the next tenday, I will _terminate_ my service," she coldly replied, dropping an envelope on the table and striding out, leaving the warrior alone.

"Mou… she's always so cold…" he sighed, getting up. Following her footsteps, he swiftly exited the inn. Blinking furiously, his eyes adjusted to the light of day after the murky illumination of the inn. He breathed in a deep, clear breath of morning air.

The last Corporal Takeda ever took.

Silent as the very refreshing wind that blew lazily around, causing standards to flutter, a cloaked figure appeared behind Takeda, slitting his throat with a serrated blade with practiced ease. Without even a whimper, he dropped down onto the pavement, a small pool of liquid gathering under him.

The figure began searching him. It took everything he owned, excluding his undergarments. Dragging his body right down the alleyway, the assassin conjured a small ball of fire and set his hair alight, disappearing a though they were dissolved into the very air itself.

Sergay Wang looked around his well-furnished office and sighed. He did not sigh out of frustration, tiredness or relief, he sighed at the tell-tale jingling of the wind chimes outside his window, signaling that someone was outside, waiting to see him. And he knew exactly whom that somebody was.

"Come in, Kuga." He announced shortly, leaning back on his throne-like chair and running his fingers through his hair.

"I have terminated the subject," she began, not even bothering to bow to him. "His possessions await you with that infernal tinkerer in the basement."

"You gave them to Tripsnatch? Surely you know that all he'll do is melt them down and create another useless but ingenious piece of engineering?" Sergay uttered.

"I do only what is asked of me." Was the curt reply.

"Very well. You may go until I may speak to you again."

The girl bowed and was about to make her way out of the door when Sergay stopped her abruptly.

"You need to go and see Grithook. He has that poison you commissioned a few weeks ago ready."

But the mysterious girl was already gone.

"Why, councilor Bravefist, what an honor it is to make your acquaintance," came a much rehearsed polite greeting. Councilor Bravefist was by no means an ugly man, but he was just like every other courtier that her father had arranged for her to see; powerful, old, and rich.

After exchanging the same monotonous pleasantries with the rest of the court, Princess Shizuru gracefully took a seat on her throne beside her mother's. But, of course, her mother, the Queen of Windbloom, was dead. The throne was merely a commemoration of sorts. Her Father, Magthor the first of Windbloom, stood stoic and intimidating on his chiseled throne, the grey streaks in his hair and beard coupled with the power that radiated from his eyes was enough to calm the chatter down at once.

"Order!" He barked, sending dust down from the courtroom ceiling. "I now officially call to order the seventy-second court of the brethren of the Allied Clans. The first issue for debate will be…"

The head of court stood up and cleared his throat. "The growing concern pertaining to the activities the Rogues and Assassins within our Nation and Cities,"

The room became rife with whispers and gasps at his words.

"A few of you may have noticed that Corporal Takeda is no longer amongst us. His remains were found scattered in the canals, and everything but the clothes on his back had been pilfered.

"Though the evidence is scarce, I have reason to believe that the rogues may be operating within the care of a noble from our very city. Possibly one in this very courtroom… but we mustn't be hasty. A few of our priests and mages have scryed your estates to no success, so do not panic. But please, be sure, that if any citizen is discovered to be associated or syndicated with this case, they will be put to _death._

However, on a slightly lighter note, a messenger arrived from Romulus this morn, bringing with him the assurance that they will hosting All Hallows Eve again this year…"

Shizuru could not listen any more. Her mind drifted off into dreamland, where she imagined a handsome young knight that would come and take her far away from the tedium of Windbloom Keep and it's constant formalities. They would take her away to some faraway land, where she was not weighed down by her title or standing.

But, alas, she felt no butterflies at the thought of her handsome knight any more. She was eight and ten summers old now, and at this age she should already be married to secure an heir for her ageing father.

Hardly noticing what she was doing, the princess's legs carried her down familiar corridors, behind tapestries and down sets of spiral staircases to her bedding chambers. Falling onto her four-poster bed, she laid awake, eyes concentrated on a knot in the wood of her canopy.

The bell for repast tolled at eight o'clock, but Shizuru stubbornly ignored it, choosing instead to lazily write the kitchen staff a note that she would prefer to eat up in her room. She did this often now, seeing as that when she ate in the Banquet hall, she would be accosted by a multitude of tipsy suitors.

Her smaller sister, Mashiro, snuggling up to her in bed, abruptly woke her at cockcrow the next morning. She sighed and pried the child's ten-year old hands from her waist and got up and about, taking a bath, dressing for the day, doing her hair and whatnot.

Whilst brushing out her hair in the mirror, Shizuru's eyes rested upon a hastily scrawled note pinned up:

_Ball tonight. Attendance is __mandatory, __Shizuru-sama. Your ball dress is downstairs with me. No doubt a new batch of old whiskered men will be there to woo you. Hope that cheered you up._

_-Akane_

Trust Aoi to write a note like this. Akane Soir was Maria, the head of the Royal maid's helper. But to Shizuru she was like an older sister, seeing as though she was only three years old than her and they had grown up together.

Shizuru sighed and began to get dressed; knowing that is would be a _long _day.

Windbloom at night was considered a relatively safe place. Aside from a few tramps, there was nothing that would really hurt you.

Well, _nearly _nothing.

A cloaked figure sat astride a riding tiger, prowling along the canals, daggers glinting in the moonlight. They headed straight for the keep at a casual pace, as not to draw attention to themselves. A strong gust of wind blew the figure's hood back, revealing a striking female face, pale as the waxing moon reflected in her verdant eyes. She had a long mane of silky raven tresses that shined midnight blue in the cerulean night sky. Just the sight of someone so beautiful took your breath away.

The serrated daggers at her belt also took your breath away, very painfully and literally. Her ample chest rose and fell from under her leather breastplate, making her far too perocative for most simple-minded men, such as Colonel Takeda, to handle seriously.

This was Kuga; the assassin. She _lived _on independence, in the shadows, from other people's pockets. Her being flitted in and out of history, never enough to be there yet never too little to be forgotten. She was a bedtime story told to keep children in their rooms.

And when Kuga had a target, it was promptly terminated, not fuss, no problem.

But this assignment would be different.

Sergay had informed her of a possible attempt at the king's life. The story had been carefully sent out to barkers and street vendors, gossips and criers. It was supposed to come from a member of the opposing faction, the Host Tribes, who had infiltrated the city. But in reality, it was to come on the sharpened edge of Kuga's swift blade. She was to become a maid in the castle and kill the king at the first chance she got. Not a simple get in get out situation, but nevertheless, easy. In his own fort, the king would be guarded less and causally.

Kuga had no regret at killing the king of her own faction; she held ties to nobody. She had been found in a wooden crate on the no-man's land that separated the two divisions of the kingdom of Earl, and only claimed by a group of looters that had bought her back to Windbloom and sold her to the slave trade.

But she was older now, and hardened against the physical and emotional pain of her past. She was not human; no, something both much less and much more. She was a killer.

--O--

Please read and review! This is what happens to sober writers after writing a crackfic.

Emiri


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 here for you- I'm actually writing these without posting them, so that I can update quicker when you guys need it

Chapter 2 here for you- I'm actually writing these without posting them, so that I can update quicker when you guys need it. Thanks in advance for the reviews I hope to get.

Chapter 2- Machinations and maids

Guests mulled around the banquet hall, sipping glasses of wine and bantering amongst themselves, exchanging pleasantries and gossiping about various city issues. Shizuru peeked out upon them from behind the tapestry of Edgar the Slayer, and groaned at the multitude of well-dressed men who were looking around for her with excited eyes. Her low-cut ballroom gown was doing to nothing to deter them, either.

With the customary three tolls of the bell, trumpeters began playing a regal tune and all attention turned to the raised dais as all chatter subsided. Shizuru gasped and hurried back down the passageway and looped around the hall, coming to a skidding halt just behind the curtain from whence her father and she were to enter. Her father gave her a look that said 'You're seeing me later', took her arm and led her out into the bright light.

A multitude of clapping met Shizuru and her father as they stepped out into the banquet hall, mainly by the many eligible bachelors that were here only to woo the poor girl. However, the monarchy of the kingdom was well loved, as they maintained the light and peace of the place impeccably. Shizuru smiled placidly at the room, not meeting people's eyes, as she always did. Her mask was her fortress; not the stone walls that surrounded her.

"Now announcing: King Magthor the first of Windbloom and his eldest daughter, Princess Shizuru!"

After a grand entrance, the tumult died down slightly and Shizuru's father sat down at the head of the banquet table, anticipating the food to arrive. Whilst mages conjured tables for the guests, chefs and waiters ran around passing out plates at inhuman speed. Shizuru sat down next to her father with a sigh and began to cut her steak in tiny pieces, as was befitting of a royal daughter.

Once the room was tucking into the scrumptious meal, Magthor stood and cleared his throat loudly, and the eyes of everyone in the room trained themselves to him.

"I hope that you all are enjoying this feast which we have prepared for you! Now, before the main event, the All Hallows Eve ball, I have an announcement to make. My daughter's long-time personal maid, Miss Akane Soir, had been accepted our very own chapel of light, and plans to train as a priestess. Sadly, this means she will be leaving us. However, we have a new maid to take care of the Princess, and I shall now introduce her…"

Shizuru paid no attention to the next bit, as she was lost in her thoughts. How was this possible? Akane had been talking to her normally just this morning, and no notion of the aspiration to become a priestess had ever so much as passed her lips. Something had to be going on, for a new maid to be found so quickly after Akane's 'resignation'. Usually the maids had to go through a series of inspections and tests, and needed to have served a noble of high standing before, or had been raised in the castle since childhood…

A whisper in her ear broke Shizuru out of her current reverie, and she turned to see her father beckoning at her, apparently the dancing was starting. She inwardly groaned.

A young man approached her; he couldn't have been more than two tens old, but several war medals already decorated his stately dress. He held his hand out to her and got down one knee, asking her to dance with him. She begrudgedly took his hand, and circuited around the hall once with him. His attention, of course, was nowhere near hr face, but glued to her cleavage, which was conveniently exposed for ogling at. After him, an abundance of other men swarmed her, and what could she do under her father's iron rule but dance with them all? After the city clock tower tolled midnight, people began leaving and Shizuru was about to dash back up to her room when her father's strong hand met her unclothed shoulder, gluing her to the spot. She nervously turned around, and met the piercing gaze of his black eyes, black eyes that she, luckily, had not inherited.

"Shizuru…" he began, getting ready to lecture her on punctuality, though at the last minute, he seemed to change his mind. Magthor removed his hand and smiled, the edges of his eyes wrinkling, "Why don't you go and get to know the new maid? You'll be with her all the time, now, anyway."

Shizuru nodded in understanding and restarted the route she had been taking to her room. This was her secret route, which only she and Akane had known. If you pulled the discoloured torch bracket next to the (in Shizuru's opinion) rather ugly statue of Sakomizu the Unimportant, there was a short set of spiraling stairs that led up to the uppermost floor of the bell tower. From here there was a wonderful view of Windbloom, and it was even more spectacular when the sunset cast the canal in a hue of pink, making it seem as though a river of blood flowed through the city. Even though she knew it was wrong to think like that, Shizuru liked the image. Now, in the very dark of night, the crescent moon was visible floating above the Cathedral. The cathedral where Akane already was, where Akane had already gone without even a notion to her loyal friend and master…

Shizuru shrugged off these thoughts and proceeded to continue the room. When they were smaller, Shizuru and Akane used to do it as a dare, but now, Shizuru had mastered it completely, to get down, you had to lower yourself down two stories using the long rope that made the bell toll without making it sound. Slipping down silently into her room, Shizuru kicked her shoes off and fell down onto the four-poster with a sigh. Another night of suitors… her father just didn't get it, did he?  
The fact was that really, Princess Shizuru wasn't interested in men. She never had been. However, if her father or anyone ever knew that… the entire kingdom might break into turmoil. Because, without princess Shizuru marrying and producing and heir, there would be no one to succeed her father, and thus nobles might begin fighting for the throne. Such internal warring would allow the Host tribes, who already held animosity towards the kingdom after the War of Barren's Plane (a battle for possession of a large and mainly desolate area) to gain an upper hand over the strenuous struggle for power.

Shizuru's mind wandered to questions about her new maid. She idly wondered which race it would be: another human, like her or Akane, or perhaps and Elf? She doubted that, as elves dislike sinking into the servitude of humans, preferring to keep themselves to themselves in their precious forests. She also doubted it would be a dwarf, as even dwarf women preferred to stay in their mines. That left a Halfling or even, perhaps, a goblin. Shizuru had never seen a Halfling, and shivered at the thought of a goblin maid. They were known to be… odd.

The thought struck Shizuru then at how much power the humans had over the Allied clans. She frowned, thinking of how few members of the other races there were in control.

--O--

Several hours previous to this, before the sun had begun to set over the city, Kuga the assassin stepped into Sergay's office for what would be the last time in several weeks or more. She looked over her assignment details once more. Everything seemed in order. Her mouth gave a slight grimace as she looked at the uniform she was to wear: Her usual; leather breastplate, black silk shirt, lightweight breeches and boots were to be replaced by a ridiculous dress with a skirt that she considered _far _too short, with a kind of pinafore over the top, completed by a pair of cloth shoes and knee socks. She looked ridiculous. Where was she supposed to store weaponry?

She also glanced at her right hand. It was scorched where she had attempted to conjure fire to turn the remains of Corporal Takeda to ashes. She cursed silently, as at the time she had forgotten that she was not resilient to the damage of the spell.

"One more thing, Kuga," Sergay stated, standing up and walking over to where she stood, "We think it would be wiser to hide your…" he trailed off, not wanting to offend the girl, who was very sensitive about this subject. She gave him a curt nod, and Sergay handed Kuga the flask.

"I am to take this once a day, I presume?"

"Correct," he informed her, " By the way, have you chosen a first name yet? Kuga isn't appropriate for a young girl."

"I have decided upon 'Natsuki'," she answered.

Sergay's eyes widened as she spoke these three syllables. "Are you sure that's wise? Seeing as how that name had such a great taboo…"

"And one which so ironically suits my situation. I shall be going now."

Sergay didn't even have time to let out an exasperated sigh before the girl had vanished into the breeze. Kuga has about the same amount of social capability as the stuffed Tiger's head that hung on the wall above his desk.

Grunting at the confiscation of her riding tiger, Kuga, newly dubbed 'Natsuki', let out a string of curses that roughly contained the words 'riding tiger' 'not appropriate' and 'maid's status'. She was walking all the way to the keep, and Windbloom was by no means a country hamlet. Lugging her duffel bag of clothing and personal possessions, dressed in a traveling cloak with that horrible maid's uniform underneath, with the hood up. As the lights of the Keep appeared once she rounded the corner, Natsuki slipped into an alley and slipped the flask that Sergay had given her out of the bag. She looked at the label on it, frowning at the crude illustration that Grithook had drawn on it. She made a mental note to get back at him for that someday. After going through all the necessary checks to make sure it wasn't poison (because giving her poison was something Grithook would find hilarious) she uncorked it and took a swig. It tasted vile, but then again, a potion this potent was not likely going to taste like elderflower wine. She shuddered as the stuff coursed down the throat and began to work on her body. Her senses dulled, and then the icy sensation stopped. Natsuki orientated herself a bit and made sure everything was okay, and then resumed her walk to the keep.

As she approached the gate, the guards in their white crest-emblazoned plate armor, looking very important and strong, stopped the conversation they were having about which priestess was hottest and became alert to Natsuki's presence.

"Hey, you! What business have you here at this hour?" the taller one shouted. She walked up to them and brought her hood down, to show her face and the (rather skillfully and completely illegally grafted on) Allied Clans allegiance symbol. They relaxed slightly, knowing that their enemy was no more than a girl of ten and seven winters.

"My Name is Natsuki Kruger; I am the Princess's new maid." She replied, curtseying. The action was slightly awkward, as she had never needed to use such a feminine gesture before. Bowing was far as she unusually went. However the guards, who had much more brawn than brain, didn't see the awkwardness and invited her through after checking her papers.

"Go straight on until you reach the centre chamber and then take the first set of double doors on the left. From there the way to the ballroom should be pretty obvious," One of the guards said kindly. However, Natsuki already knew the way around the keep like the back of her hand. The blueprints were committed to her brain, every passageway, cellar, cupboard and secret tunnel were imprinted upon her mind.

She began to walk up the slanting entrance corridor in a fashion completely contrary to everything she had been taught; her whole foot hit the floor at once and created significant noise, and her body weight was not distributed evenly. However, this was how normal girls walked; and Natsuki was now, for the most, a normal girl.

She entered the ballroom behind the curtain just in time to see the curtain opening and two figures stepping out. She assumed that these were the king and princess, as the fanfare was playing for them. One of the king's attendant's saw her and beckoned her as she waited her turn to be called up.

"…I shall now introduce her…" Natsuki heard and took it as her cue to enter into the room. Throwing her cloak off onto the floor behind her, she walked demurely to the king's side and was introduced. She saw the attention of many of the young men in the room shift to her as many 'ooh's echoed around the chamber. Natsuki's attention, however, was focused on the princess, who's attention was clearly nowhere in the castle. She had a frown on her face, and Natsuki couldn't help but imagine her thoughts at the moment. You see, Sergay and the rest of them had managed to get the old maid to resign suddenly by offering her an internship at the cathedral. They knew that she didn't particularly want to become a priestess, but the carrot on a stick here was that a friend of her's, a young Paladin named Kazuya, was also studying there. From what record they could procure, those two were romantically involved with each other, and Aoi had left without a consideration. Apparently, Akane had been very close to the princess, and so she was probably quite upset. Not that it mattered to Natsuki, however; her objective was not the princess's happiness, but the king's life.

After being introduced, the king talked with her for a few minutes and sent her off to the head maid to receive her instructions. Miss Maria, the woman in command, looked at her disapprovingly (though this was not an uncommon look to see on her wrinkled face) and set her to work with a few menial tasks immediately.

And so, a new chapter of Natsuki's life had opened up. Natsuki jogged down to the laundry room, where she was expected to do Shizuru's daily washing. This, however, wasn't much, as the girl had only worn plain clothes in the morning and her ball dress tonight.

But Miss Maria, the devil, had forgotten to tell Natsuki that she was going to be washing more than just clothes. A light blush alighted Natsuki's usually emotionless face as she laid her eyes upon the basket labeled _Underclothes._

--o--

Boy, that was a monster of a chapter. 500 words more that I usually do. I wasn't going to stop it here, but I really needed to go and pee and that sentence seemed an appropriate cliffhanger. The stage is set!

You know, I wanted to write something it bit different from the usually ShizNat AU story. So trust me, this will be a lot more detailed and involve kingdoms and wars and other crap. And wait 'til you meet the host tribes… under the lead of Tomoe…

(Please Review! I live on reviews! They taste better than even Coke!)

(Squiggly thing) Emiri


	3. Chapter 3

Cut to the chase

Cut to the chase.

Disclaimer: I own Mai HiME, Otome, Destiny and Zwei! Gimme your best shot, Sunrise!

Sunrise: Sue, Sue, Sue, Sue, Sue, Sue, and Sue…

Emiri: ARGH! Okay, okay, I get it. You own everything. I just own my panties, all the non-HiME characters and the plot for this fic.

Chapter 3- Potions and Panties

After an embarrassing encounter with Shizuru's personal undergarments, Natsuki left the washing room with the basket of washing on her shoulders, beginning to walk up to where the princess's room was situated. Upon reaching the impressive oaken double doors, she knocked twice and waited for a reply.

"Come in,"

Natsuki hesitantly pushed opened the doors and walked in, her vision obscured by the large basket of washing that she held in front of her. Placing it down, her eyes were met by her first up-close view of Princess Shizuru. Flaxen locks framed her porcelain face and flowed down to her mid-back, smooth and shiny and an exotic colour for this kingdom, where the inhabitants mainly had black or brown hair. She had a breathtaking curvy physique, with large voluptuous breasts. But what really struck Natsuki were her eyes. The Irises were a sanguine red, the colour of war. Natsuki had seen this colour so many times that it had become dull to her, but seeing this new perspective of crimson suddenly made the hue so much more alive.

Natsuki stood frozen for over ten seconds, prompting the princess to take on a worried look as to why her new maid had abruptly become immobile. She had no idea that it was because at the moment that she had entered, Shizuru had been wearing only a short towel after stepping out of the shower.

Realising that she was staring Natsuki quickly turned her back to Shizuru and let out a cool but slightly hurried "S-sorry for my intrusion!" and was about to walk back out the door when a hand caught her shoulder.

"No, no, don't worry. We're both girls, after all. Come, you must be tired after the party, have a seat. I'd like to get to know you better if you are going to be taking care of me from sunrise until sundown every tenday, right?"

Natsuki made an effort to relax and look casual whilst keeping her guard up and turned back around to face the girl. She followed her over to the four-poster and the both sat down on the edge.

"If you excuse me, I must get changed for sleep. Could you find my Nightwear in the end cupboard for me?"

Natsuki hurried off to do what she was told. However, the end cupboard held many different sets of nightwear, and she was unsure of which set to choose. Seemingly anticipating this, Shizuru spoke up again, "You choose. Akane used to choose mine every night…"

So, the assassin picked out a long silk crimson nightshirt with a loose fitting pair of silken trousers. Holding them carefully as not to crease then, Natsuki carried them over to the princess and held them out to her. And, to the younger girl's chagrin, Shizuru picked up the clothes and began changing into them right in front of her. Mortified, Natsuki turned around and attempted to quell the rising colour in her cheeks. Sergay had obviously failed to mention that when working as the princess's personal maid, she would have to see the princess changing. Also, if she got too over-emotional, that potion might wear off quicker if her blood was pumping around too fast and then… she didn't want to think about it.

After a few minutes, Natsuki's colour had turned back to the normal pasty that came from being without sunlight for far too long and she turned around to see Shizuru sitting back on the bed and brushing out her long fair tresses. Relieved, She walked back over there and sat next to her new mistress, waiting for conversation to be exchanged.

"So, tell me your name…" she began

"My name is Natsuki Kruger, Hime-sama." Natsuki responded, bowing at Shizuru's name.

"Alright, Natsuki. From now one we're going to be together a lot of the time, so I want you to try and call me Shizuru, okay?" the older girl asked, placing her hairbrush down on the bedside table and turning to face her.

"Alright, Hi- Shizuru-sama,"

"No, no, just 'Shizuru', please,"

"Alright, _Shizuru_."

"There! Now we have a friendly atmosphere established, I'd like you to tell me a little bit about yourself. Not your life story, though." Shizuru added, even thought Natsuki didn't seem the kind to talk for hours.

"My name is Natsuki Kruger. I was born on August the fifteenth, hence my name. I was born and have lived in outer Windbloom all my life, and I served as a medic in the War of Barren's Plane, and it had been my aspiration to serve the Keep all through my life."

"A true patriot, it seems. Well, _Quid Pro Quo, _I should tell you a little about myself, Natsuki. My Name is Shizuru Voila; I was born in winter in this very keep and have not left it since. I dislike arranged marriages, eligible bachelors and this Keep. I enjoy watching Windbloom at sunset and being able to have casual conversations with people. My last maid also called me a bit of a tease." Shizuru finished. However, Natsuki could see that she had a well constructed mask; a façade, if you like. It seemed as though this poor girl had been forced to create such a pretense to remain able to tolerate this constant paradise that she lived it. Thinking back to the code that she used with those that Sergay did work with, it was so very true of this maiden. 'Entombed we are, within our own paradise'. How very, very correct.

Natsuki suddenly snapped out of this train of thought to see that Shizuru was staring at her. Shizuru noticed that Natsuki had caught on and apologized.

"I'm sorry; it's just that we don't usually get maids this cute…"

Natsuki almost anticipated the blush that appeared on her features. The whole evening had been riddled with them; Shizuru just didn't want to give her a break.

"Ara, Natsuki seems even cuter when she blushes…"

Ara? Where did that come from? The world sounded accustomed to rolling from Shizuru's tongue. This was that first time that Natsuki noticed, but Shizuru had quite a potent southern accent.

'Nee, Shizuru-sa-" Natsuki began, but Shizuru glared at her and she quickly corrected herself, "Shizuru, how did you get your southern accent, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Not at all, Natsuki: my tutor when I was small was from down south, and I picked up her accent. After that, I guess it just stayed."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, which in the end was punctuated by an involuntary yawn from Natsuki. Shizuru smiled at her and giggled.

'Ara, Natsuki is tired from washing all my panties?"

Natsuki, yet again, took the bait and blushed against her will.

Leaving quietly, Natsuki entered the room next to Shizuru's, which was no plainer furnished, but empty, save for the duffel bag of item she had placed there earlier. As she flopped down on the bed, Natsuki's mind cleared and she innerly scolded herself for the frivolous events of the night. She was here to kill the king; not to befriend his daughter. Natsuki sighed and took the other flask out of her bag, the one that contained poison. She was to poison the king's food; making it seem as though he were ill. That was why she had to be here for a long time, so that the illness seemed natural. She also had to wait about a week until the plan could commence, for it would seem suspicious if the king fell ill the day she arrived.

Pushing this phial back in, she fumbled around for a while until Natsuki felt the cool glass of the potion. Taking it out, she swilled it around absentmindedly. She briefly wondered why she had to hide herself as such, but then remembered how awkward it would be to appear as she really was…

With another defeated sigh, Natsuki quickly got changed into her nightwear, snuffed the lights and fell immediately to sleep.

The next morning, Natsuki's strict regime of training kicked in and woke her at five hours in the morn. Rolling over to look at the grandfather clock to her left, she moaned exasperatedly, for she did not have to be awake until seven, when she was to help Shizuru get ready for the day. Even though this job was tough, Royals were often lethargic and did not rise until the late hours of the morn, and so the maids only woke an hour or so before that. Natsuki rolled back over and laid in for about another thirty minutes, then found it impossible to stay under the warm covers (As the mages that worked in the castle kept the temperature very snug at this time of year; they were in the tenth month of Hallows, named because it ended with All hallows Eve.)

So, Natsuki rose from her bed and began dressing for the day. It was going to take her some time to get used to the Maid's uniform. She moved over to her full body mirror to make sure everything was just right, and the cobalt-haired assassin's eyes widened at the sight she saw. It couldn't have been a whole day since she took the potion, but the effects had already worn off; it must have been the blushing last night. What if someone had come in earlier to check on her, or change her candles, or something of the like? It would have been disastrous! Natsuki rushed back to the bed and took another swig of the bottle of potion. She shivered again, even though it was warm, and felt the effect again, crossing over to the mirror again, she was relieved that she looked like a normal human again.

The truth was, that Kuga had only noticed this on her thirteenth winter, when she had first… become a woman. Along with the infernal bleeding that plagued her with sharp pains every month had come a surprising change that Sergay had told her to hide from the rest of the world, to hide under the cavernous hood of her cloak. This was another reason why Natsuki had been kept from Society and lacked decent communication skills.

A soft knock came on her door, and she crossed the room and cautiously opened the door.

"Ara, I wasn't aware that Natsuki wore so little to bed…" came that unforgettable southern voice. Natsuki raised her eyes to see the princess standing outside her door in her nightwear and a woolen dressing gown. The blush reflex graced her with activating again, and was helped by the warm temperature of the room.

"P-princess! What brings you to my room this early?" She managed to get out.

"Oh, I'm sorry Natsuki. I like to wake up to watch the sunrise. And, as you seem the type to be up early, I thought that you'd like to watch it with me?"

Natsuki stood there, dumbfounded. Should she graciously accept or politely deny? However, she didn't have time to ponder upon what to do, as one of Shizuru's smooth hands had already taken hers and was leading her up a set of spiral staircases and then through a tapestry, after that she pulled a torch bracket and the wall seemingly opened up…

They ended up at the very top of the bell tower, where Shizuru had been last night. The great sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon, and the whole city was cast in a hue of pink.

Natsuki shivered and made a little noise. The sunrise may be pretty, but it was Hallows and thus very cold, especially in the morning. Shizuru saw this little gesture and sidled up to Natsuki, catching her in a surprise hug from behind. Natsuki though that this might be an attack and began to attempt to wiggle out, but Shizuru's grip was surprisingly firm and very warm…

"Ara… we wouldn't want Natsuki to get cold on her first day, would we?" Shizuru whispered in her ear, making Natsuki shiver and the colouring on her face darken. The princess's hot breath caressed the side of her face, and Natsuki was suddenly all too warm. She wheeled around and pushed Shizuru away from her lightly, creating a bit of distance between them.

"Kanin na, Natsuki…" She stuttered, backing away, a look of utmost remorse on her face. Natsuki crossed her hands over her body and shuddered; bodily contact was something she couldn't stand. When she was a slave… her mind reeled at the remembrance of the whips, the harsh slaps. She could trust no one.

"Hmph," Was all that Shizuru heard before Natsuki had disappeared down the bell tower and vanished from sight.

Shizuru held her hand to her chest and watched the space where those cobalt tresses had been just moments before. Softly spoken syllables drifted into the morning breeze, but Shizuru's lament was still audible.

"Why are you hiding from me, Na-tsu-ki?"

--0--

Please read and review. I am a very cruel author, aren't I? muhaha. I made you wait ages just for this. I'm trying to write it up to about 15k plus before I post, so that I'll never run dry like in other fics. Have fun!

Emiri


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- waiting and washing

Chapter 4- waiting and washing

Natsuki helped the princess dress in silence that morning; their relationship had not started well. The younger maid curtly bowed on her way out of the door, muttering something about washing. She was concentrating as best she could on clearing her thoughts and raising her defenses, for the task she was to do could not be done with a weak resolution. She was going to kill the king of the allied clans; she neither knew nor particularly wanted to know what the reason was; yet yesterday had made her wonder. If the king was dead, then the Host Tribes were most likely to use the panic that followed to sow discord amongst their enemies, which would ultimately lead to victory in battle. On another note, the only plausible heir to the throne currently was Shizuru, but as a male of the direct Windbloom bloodline could only take the throne, Both She and her little Sister Mashiro would be useless. That meant that Shizuru would have to marry and produce and heir as quickly as possible… which inevitably let to her having to bed with the nearest man, as the phrase went.

However much remorse Natsuki felt, her face didn't show it. She was Kuga now; purposely bred to kill. Her mission was to murder the monarch and get out of here; nothing more, nothing less. Frivolous emotions would slow her down and ultimately make her uncertain, and this had to be locked away if not destroyed permanently.

And thus, Kuga the assassin focused once again on her current job; washing the royal panties.

--0--

Commander Tomoe slammed her fist down upon the crude wooden surface of her desk and let out an anguished and irate grunt. Nothing seemed to be going right for her today. She took her anger out on a duo of conveniently placed Orc guards at her doorway, summoning a huge fireball and thrusting it at them. As this made her feel no better and a little _more _tired, she placated herself by continuously pounding her fists against the already splintered surface of the table. When she couldn't be bothered to continue, she lazily plopped herself into her thorned throne and glanced around her chambers. She intensely disliked Orcs; but then again, she hated Trolls and Demons and Dark Elves and most of all, Tomoe hated Halflings. There were very few things that weren't subjected to the hate of Chief Shaman Battle-commander Tomoe, fearless champion of the Host.

One of her Troll underlings cautiously shuffled up to her and meekly began speaking about something along the lines of a visit from the Captain of the Dark Elf sentinels, but Tomoe idly shooed it away with a sweep of her hand and a gust of wind blew that poor troll out of the whole Den of Artai.

Now, the chief shaman was a very special type of being. She prided herself on being born between and ethereal and a demon, and had inherited strengths from both sides; this was how she had bent the Host tribes into submission under her.

A sudden drop in temperature alerted the commander to the presence of another higher being. Her watchful eyes snapped up and were met by an equally fierce gaze from a pair of luminescent verdant globes.

Damn, she shouldn't have been so quick to dismiss that messenger. She usually liked to prepare herself for their arrival, as truthfully, Tomoe was terrified of Dark Elves. And even more terrified of their Captain, Juliet Nao Zhang, who's glinting olive eyes had seen many ages of war.

"My, my, Commander Tomoe, what have we here? Having a little temper tantrum, are we?" She cooed in a mocking fashion, bringing her long, claw-like fingernails up to her mouth and chuckling darkly.

"No, of course not! Ahem, anyway, Captain Zhang, what brings you to my great den of Artai? Surely your kind does not want to join in our All Hallows Eve festivities?" Tomoe quickly regained her composure. She inconspicuously began a silent spell to repair the damage she had done to her desk, though she knew that however inconspicuous it was, even a low level magician would be able to sense it. Tomoe was a warrior; not a mage, and her magic was only combat related. If she chose to, Captain Nao could have cast a spell at a completely oblivious Tomoe and murdered her on the spot.

However, the Captain was smarter than that. She sized commander Tomoe up, reading her mana capabilities and noticing the glinting war medal on her plate armor. No, Nao Zhang wouldn't kill her now; she to useful a pawn in the Dark Elf Captain's twisted game of chess.

"My _dear _commander, may I introduce you to two of my new… _friends?_" Juliet questioned, motioning towards one of her attendants who was waiting at the deep crimson curtain of Tomoe's quarters. In stooped two gigantic creatures, the likes of which had only reached the commander's ears through legends and gossips.

"Very well recognized, Tomoe; this is Arak'nathal and his brother Tha'tzul, king and prince of the Spindræ. Me, being the considerate person I am, thought that you could use some slightly more…" she eyed the scorched Orcs smoldering next to her, "…Competent _guards._"

Tomoe innerly trembled. Two and a half meters tall, the lower body and legs of a humungous spider and the thorax of a twisted human resemblance, covered in the thick layer of dark fur, front pincers and claws clicking menacingly; these creatures were not here to guard Tomoe. No, they were here to… _persuade _her into following every single command that Nao Zhang saw appropriate. The commander was backed right into a figurative corner; it was either go along with whatever warped plans that Nao Zhang was formulating or become Spindra fodder.

"Now, Tomoe dearest, down to business. You see, I know of a certain band of gypsies, in which there is a very interesting individual whom I wish to… _speak _with…"

--0--

The slightly taller of the cloaked figures grunted; the sun was in her eyes. She surveyed the scenery around her, and saw nothing but scrubland. A sudden gust blew an abundance of reddish sand at her and she quickly shielded herself with her billowing traveling cloak. She looked over at her comrade to see if she was alright, and was relived that Aoi was unscathed.

"Tate! There's nothin' within at least three or four leagues!" She shouted back at the caravan, where Tate was busy reeling the mizzenmast in.

"That's great, Hallard! Now get back here with Aoi and help me furl this blasted mast!" was the rough reply.

The person named Hallard grabbed Aoi and hopped onto her sandship and, opening the flagstaff, quickly caught the wind and cruised back towards the caravan.

Caravan is really quite an inappropriate word for the beautiful craft that they lived upon. With four masts, it was more of a land-craft than a simple wheeled contraption reminiscent of before the War of Barren's plain.

Reeling in her boom hook and stepping hard on her mana pedal, Chie Hallard swept up her craft into the strong desert wind and landed graceful aboard the main deck of _The Princess, _or so Aoi had christened their stolen cruiser. She carefully let Aoi down and the dismissed the sandship to the storeroom, jumping up to help Tate with that mizzenmast.

In the great desolate war-torn desert that had been created after the war of barren's plain, many exiles and gypsies lived on the very edge of society; those whose races were not loyal to either the Allied nor the Host, those who chose to live in seclusion, and those who simply had nowhere to go.

Chie quickly tied her green bandana over her charcoal-coloured hair and wiped her sweaty, calloused hands on the sides of her breeches. Her eyes were slanted and an odd colour not uncommon amongst her people; she was a full-blooded Plainsrunner and liked it that way. Built a lot more stoicly and toughly than most females of other races, the spherical markings on her unclothed lower thighs were a dead giveaway as to her heritage. Growing up in harsh environment of Barren's Plain, her kind, originally humans, had adapted themselves by increasing their running and survival capacities.

The Plainsrunner glanced at her closest friends, Tate and Aoi. Tate was her younger half-brother, and had short spiking hair that was blonde at the top and dark brown underneath. This was because a few years ago, he had had a run in with a traveling group of sun priestesses, attempted to woo them, and angered one so much that she had permanently died his hair a humiliating yellow shade, which was very laughable for a Plainsrunner; dark hair was a sign of bravery and righteousness, whilst light hair was the contrary.

Aoi however, was a whole other kettle of fish. Beautiful and fragile with long flowing auburn hair, they had found her one cold night lying face down in the sand close to the border of The Allied Lands. She was kindhearted and feminine, the complete foil and antonym to the boyish Chie. She was human, yes, but Chie found that she lacked the lackluster boredom and sameness that most humans had.

This threesome was not the only life on the ship; there was also Mai, Mikoto and Takumi. Mai and Takumi were brother and sister, who had appeared from identifiably nowhere and happily joined the little band of gypsies. Mikoto had kind of come as a bonus, as she seemed eternally clinging to Mai's waist. Bouncy and over-exuberant, you could call her the ship's cat. Takumi, however, had a weak body and was constantly worried about by Mai. Together, they made up the motley crew of _The Princess_.

Mai's shoulder length mop of bright orange hair exploded from the galley with a joyful cry of 'repast!' and Chie and Tate forgot all about furling the mizzenmast, jumping down to the deck and racing towards where the cheery chef was holding a giant pot of broth, with Mikoto sitting on her shoulders with a pile of bowls balanced on her head. They looked quite a pair.

As they sat on some random space of deck that had been newly anointed the banquet table, all eyes customarily turned to Chie, who was expected to report on the day.

"Well, from what I can tell, we're about ten and two leagues short of the Host border, sailing easterly at an average speed of three ten knots per hour. We're currently heading for the town of Twyr, with the purpose of selling all those rarities we've amassed over the past couple of months," She explained, taking breaks to sip at her broth, "however, we have to be careful… a lot more careful than we were afore. Aoi has… a feeling." She turned to affirm this with Aoi, who nodded meekly. It was now law to follow Aoi's 'feelings' as they turned out to be correct every single time. She was the sole reason that the band of outlaws had evaded an extremely dangerous sandstorm, and she could always forecast the weather. Chie suggested to her that she may have been a druid before she lost her memory; but Aoi had disagreed. She had firmly stated that Druidism was an art that had always been left for elves and would stay that way.

"If we work through the night, we can be near enough to camp there at morn, and then go in to trade at dusk." It was an order, not a suggestion. All crewmembers scampered off to attend to their respected part of the ship, whilst Mai stooped to collect their bowls.

Mai stood there for a while, letting the breeze play through her short orange hair. She sighed at the waxing moon, thinking of a girl she had once known.

Reflected upon the shining edge of the pan she was carrying, a memory began to form and begin to tell a part of Mai's tale.

_She just stood there and stared. Cold, lifeless green eyes pierced her from he shadowed interior of a cavernous hood, the only sign that the girl was even living. The human shivered at the sight of her, her palms sweaty with fear. This pawn, this weapon, was the same age as her; barely nine summers old. And yet, they differed so much. This girl was the moon; silent and fleeting, cold and alone in a velvety sea of stars, each a lost soul. And Mai was the sun, full of hope and exuberance, always watching over everyone._

"_Anyway, Mai, I'd like you to meet your uncle, Sergay," her mother proclaimed, pointing to a young gentleman with blond hair and stately dress on. She sighed, unwilling to go through the formalities with this man again. Instead, she piped up rather loudly,_

"_Uncle, who is that girl with you?"_

_Sergay froze for a minute, turning around to the girl._

_Nay, the spot where the girl had once been. By now, her fleeting existence in the entrance hall was over, and she had gone on to darker, danker places, where only she knew, where only she was safe._

A tap on her shoulder bought Mai out of her dream-like state and she glanced over to see Chie looking at the worriedly.

'It doesn't do well to dwell on the past, Mai…"

With a smile and a shrug, the cook plodded back over to the galley to begin washing up.

Chie ran her finger through her hair and sighed.

"Damn, I hate ex-priests, always lost in memories and visions…" she thought aloud. Taking a look up to the same moon that Mai had been so lost within a few moments earlier, Chie recalled the memory she had seen over the chef's shoulder. It was so strange- Aoi had been describing a premonition about the moon earlier- she had said that there would be a child of the moon; a beautiful, deadly, lonely child; this child would be the centre of the next Great War. Chie shuddered; the war of barren's plain had been horrific, especially for its inhabitants, like herself. The sand, which used to be a golden hue, was now crimson, an evil colour. Another war would quickly take away the little peace that she already had. She was known in both the host and allied clans; they would ask her to fight, maybe to spy, to provide trade; all sorts of things. But Chie didn't want that; she wanted to stay happy aboard her great ship with Aoi, Tate, Mai, Mikoto and Takumi.

A presence beside her alerted Chie to a new arrival.

"It doesn't do well to dwell on the past, Captain…" came the caring voice, so rarely heard these days. Takumi stood next to her, his hands gripping the banister at the side. He looked at her, and, truthfully, Chie's heart panged to look at a boy so broken. He had been one of those who had died in the war of Barren's plain; but Mai just couldn't bear to loose him, so she had begged the sun priestesses to save him; she had kept his rotting corpse for weeks.

They had agreed, though for a large price, and had spent three days and nights searching the skies for his soul, and had eventually found it. Once they had brought it back into his body, they had just left, leaving no help in their wake. But the problem was that Takumi's body just didn't work like it used to; it was weak and frail, so he could only walk slowly around the ship. However, he was a very empathic person, so he served as the crew's spiritual advisor, of sorts. Mai was very proud of him.

Chie turned fully to face him and stared into his eyes for a long time. It was often hard to fathom out his cryptic advice; Chie had given that guidance to Mai on reflex, but with Takumi it seemed that there was a deeper tone to what he was saying. That boy just scared Chie sometimes.

"Should you really be out here in this wind, Takumi? Mai will have your head…" Chie mused, ready to send the child back to his cabin and be rid of the heavy atmosphere that he often created.

"War is coming, Captain. There is nothing you can do to stop it, and nowhere you can run to avoid it. You will have a choice. And I suggest you take the right path." The boy's eyes misted over, and he fell to the ground, unconscious. A small metal object fell from his hand; Chie picked it up and looked at it curiously.

"Hmm? This is one of those tags… what is it doing here?" Chie turned it over in her hand; the mithril was oddly cold, even though it had been in Takumi's hand for at least a while. Once it warmed up, an inscription was visible, written in the old tongue. After staring at it for long enough, Chie chanced to read the word aloud. It rolled off her tongue like a block of ice, and the drums of battle seemed to echo around the desert.

_Tsuki._

--0--

Tsuki – Moon

Ara, I am very good at foreshadowing, no?


	5. Chapter 5

You'll be glad to know that there is more of Shizuru and Natsuki in this chapter

You'll be glad to know that there is more of Shizuru and Natsuki in this chapter. I'm truly sorry for going off on a tangent, but it all adds up in the end, I promise!

Chapter 5- Messages and Moonlight

Shizuru knew that Natsuki was avoiding her, it was obvious enough. She had walked 'aimlessly' around the castle and wherever she had gone, a swish of sapphire hair around the corner told her that she had displaced the new maid from wherever she had previously been.

She _had_ to find out more about Natsuki. There was something, just a fraction of un-shielded consciousness, that gave the girl the air of an unsheathed dagger about her; she was better than the rest, she was above them, and, in a strange way, Shizuru could relate to that. She almost idolized the maid. There was also another quality, which Shizuru had only seen a flicker of so far, when she had gotten too close in the bell tower. It was feral aggression, like a wild animal's. What a strange girl, and an even stranger maid.

Yet, even knowing full well that the possibility of Natsuki being something like a spy or assassin didn't faze Shizuru, she just somehow knew that the younger girl didn't want to hurt her.

She didn't fear for herself, no, she feared for her father, who, in her opinion, was the true target of whatever was going on. And it was very, _very_ hard to keep a secret from Princess Shizuru.

Whilst the game of cat and mouse was taking place upstairs, something slightly less lighthearted was happening in the King's office downstairs. Magthor sat upon his throne-liked chair and ran his calloused fingers through the graying hair upon his head. He growled and slammed his fist upon the table with fearsome strength, pulling out a few of his hairs in the progress.

"This was not supposed to happen, damned be it! We stopped the war once, and even if you have to kill every woman and child in my city, we will stop it again!" He snarled at the cloaked figure before him. "I have spent forty years of my life getting this kingdom under control, and no insignificant wayward Halfling is going to supercede me! I don't care what you have to do, whom you have to hire or why, but you _will_ find the source of the rumors and you _will _kill it!"

With the final 'it', Magthor spat at the figure and gestured for them to leave. Outside, the boy drew his hood and smiled lazily at the nearly full moon.

"You don't care, eh…? Well then, it seems I have been given license to have some… _fun…_" he chuckled darkly, his pinkish eyes glittering maliciously, the breeze ruffling his snow- white hair. He stood, unmoving, for a few more moments, and then decided it was time to fill out his _master's _orders.

The boy chuckled again and vanished into the wind.

--0--

Natsuki leaned on the mop she was holding and sighed tiredly; it had been a long day of chores. Even though she had undergone rigorous physical training with Sergay, he body was geared for quick, lithe, powerful movements; not the monotone of sweeping a long and badly-balanced mop around for a long time. Her hands ached for her daggers; Natsuki wondered for a moment why it was going to take so long to kill the blasted king.

She was idly strolling back to the laundry to pick up the clothes that the washerwomen should have dried by now when a raven flew in a perched upon the windowsill. Natsuki cautiously went over to it and in response the raven detached a scroll from its leg and pecked her finger before flying back off again.

The assassin picked up the scroll and eyed the seal upon it; Sergay's signature crossed daggers, a sure sign that it was a memorandum concerning her work. Warily opening it, she began to read the spidery handwriting.

_Kuga,_

_Our important friend has been talking to a ladybird. Please immediately serve him higher-grade tea, and remember that the back door is always open on the night of no shadows._

_S.W_

How typical of Sergay to send Kuga a particularly cryptic letter. She knew what some of it meant, like that 'higher-grade tea' possibly meant poison. The ladybird line completely eluded her, so she settled on thinking about the last sentence. The back door is always open on the night of no shadows? Well, which night has no shadows? Natsuki thought for a while, and after some deep contemplation, the night without shadows had to be the full moon, because it couldn't be anything else. But the back door was… what exactly? Natsuki rubbed her head and frowned, annoyed at Sergay's ambiguousness.

Now, whilst Natsuki had been motionless and pensive, she had unwillingly given the princess and chance to catch up with her. Putting the note carefully into one of her pockets, Natsuki turned to go to the laundry, and came face to face with an amused looking princess.

"Ara, why has my maid been avoiding me?" she pouted, faking a little sniff at the end. Natsuki just stood, paralyzed, her brain madly calculating any possible escape route. When it came up with a large zero, Shizuru seemingly sensed this and smiled a crocodile smile.

"Ah… um… I was just…" she attempted to say, but the princess was now gracefully advancing upon her, step by step forcing her closer to a corner. A very much literary corner, make from the cool white stone from which the whole of Windbloom seemed to be carved.

As Shizuru got closer, Natsuki became more and more worried; the girl had a predatory gleam in her eyes; the type she had seen before, and as her porcelain hand reached out towards her, Natsuki's heart began beating erratically, she was beginning to perspire. Closer and closer the hand came, and Natsuki saw the older girl tremble slightly as she bridged the distance between them, another few inches and their faces would touch, Shizuru closed her eyes and leaned in…

Natsuki had been so sure; so sure that the princess was going to make a move on her, so sure that her body had readied herself for a kiss, but when she felt a fragile yet strong pair of arms around her, and Shizuru's body pressing against hers, she actually let out a sigh of relief. Shizuru was bending down slightly to hug her. And innocent, friendly hug was all it was. Awkwardly and rigidly standing there, Natsuki's embarrassment got the better of her and she pushed the princess away quite roughly, and with strength that a maid was not supposed to possess. She quickly excused herself with a mutter about 'laundry' and briskly walked off in the opposite direction.

Shizuru, who had been thrown to the floor by the force of Natsuki's rejection, was saddened, yes, but delighted at the same time. From under her side, she pulled out a flattened and rumpled but still very much legible scroll of parchment; the very same that Natsuki had tucked into her back pocket. Congratulating herself of a job well done, the not-so-innocent princess skipped back to her chambers, only one thing on her mind; the letter.

Natsuki let out a chain of multi-lingual curses as she walked back towards the washing room on a roundabout route, which happened to take twice as long. The encounter with Shizuru had shaken her up and caused a fair amount of blushing, and potion-wasting to boot. That princess really aggravated her… yet, why couldn't Natsuki take her eyes of the beautiful young woman?

Giving her head a firm shake, Natsuki concentrated once again on mopping the royal bathroom, and it is safe to say that the odor inside said royal bathroom was not particularly pleasant; the king did not exactly smell of roses.

Later that day, when the setting sun once again plunged the fair city of Windbloom into a myriad of sunset hues, Natsuki re-entered the princess's chambers, laden with a heavy bundle of washing. After setting it down and putting it all the correct drawers, she eyed the sleeping figure of Shizuru on the bed; her head and body were facing towards that window, which implied that she had began to slumber whilst watching sundown. Natsuki couldn't help but chortle at the odd position as she drew the covers over Shizuru's lightly snoring form. After shutting the curtains, she silently exited and wished the princess good dreams.

After all, they would be the last she would ever have; tomorrow, her father dearest would wake up somewhat feverish and with a malign feeling around his system. A few days afterwards, he would be unable to exit bed.

And after exactly a week to that day, King Magthor the first of Windbloom would die.

In his chambers, Magthor was sat up in bed, awaiting tea from the kitchens. A good cup of tea would always calm him down and set him to sleep, and nowadays he really needed sleep.

Miss Maria came up with his tea tray, an unusual look of concern on her aged face. She set the cup of tea down next to the King and peered at him, voicing her concerns.

"It doesn't do well to dwell upon the past, your Majesty…" she whispered, leaving the room.

Magthor sighed and took a sip of his tea; it tasted stronger, but he didn't mind. He felt drowsy within a few minutes, and fell asleep quickly, to a night void of dreams. And, when her woke up, the cogs of fate would begin to turn; not just for him, not just for Shizuru or Natsuki or Windbloom, but for the entire world. The world he had struggled for so long to grasp in the palm of his hand was about to unravel in the most interesting of ways.

Natsuki sat on her windowsill, her legs dangling down into nothingness. She sighed and looked at the now not full phial of poison in her hand. She shouldn't be thinking like this, no, but all of a sudden the assassin wondered _why _she had to kill this man. It surely didn't benefit the Allied clans in any way, as, without a monarch or foreseeable heir, the faction could fall into civil war, allowing the Host to gain prevalence and possibly even overthrow them…

Natsuki winced as the moon came out from behind a large cloud, her eyes adjusting to the new level of light. Once they had, he turned her emerald orbs to the beautiful specter that hung precariously in the sky, enthralled. She had always felt a strange kind of empathy towards the moon; she loved how it shined so brightly and alone in the night sky, and how it commanded all of the stars. It was believed that stars were really dead souls who had not moved on, but Kuga didn't really know if this was true or not. It was nice to think that they were, because this was an explanation, which needed no proof to back up, and then they didn't have to go and research what stars really were.

She felt a tug in her chest as Natsuki stared into the now clear velvety blackness. The moon was full and bright, and so large tonight. Another tug in her chest reminded Natsuki of Sergay's letter.

_And remember that the back door is always open on the night of no shadows._

Tonight was the night of no shadows! Everything made sense now! Natsuki twirled her body back around and ran into her room, slamming the window shut and drawing curtains shut. She went to the other side of the room and did it again with the other set, and frantically jumped into bed, throwing the covers over her head. As any good assassin could, she willed her body to shut down, for her mind to sleep, and succeeded, but just before she lost consciousness, Natsuki remembered.

She had forgotten to lock the door.

_Blurred, rushing, fleeting, gone. The crisp late autumn wind blew a few maple leaves across the field, making the only noise that could be heard for miles around. The grass, damn beneath, was pleasant. A barn owl, a mouse hanging from his strong beak, flew overhead, blotting the whole moon momentarily; it hurt. It hurt so much, every morn, every eve, every breath and moment. The almost silent beatings of the owl's wings were painfully loud, the detail of the world such a terrible thing. From behind, the lights of a beautiful city, promising warmth. Yet, the icy pastures seemed better, in a way, seemed more familiar. _

_Then, the shot. Men, many men, came running up the hill, came running straight. Swords, muskets, axes bared. Fighting, savage and bloody. All there was to do was rip and tear; nothing else mattered. They fell, one by one; down into the cool grass of the meadow, their faces marred with hemorrhaging scratches, deep, right into their flesh. Triumph as they defiled the once beautiful pasture with their tainted lifeblood. Pain as the last shot hit home. Fog, lots of fog, clouding over, and then-_

--0--

Commander Tomoe sat upon her great ethereal horse, called back from the dead to serve her evil purposes, and groaned. The trip had been long and hard, and the Spindræ hadn't even let her rest except for four hours each night. However, in their eyes, this had paid off handsomely, as, by the third day, the reddish sands of Barren's Plain were indeed quite proximate.

However, traveling with Arak'Nathal and Tha'tzul was not what one could say was pleasant. They stank of rotting flesh and were secreting a foul-smelling substance all day around, and they always had a hungry look in their eye, especially when looking at the commander. Tomoe was scared witless by them, and was glad that her stint was finally seemingly coming to a close.

Later that day, at around three o'clock, the sprawling mass of sand that was Twyr came into view. The town was made of many low buildings, some only about a metre off the ground. They were made of hardened sand on top, but these were just the entrance to the town, if you like. Underneath the desert, there was a huge complex of tunnels and houses, even squares with shops and an underground lake. Tywr was truly an odd place, but it served its purpose well.

They dismounted just outside the town, and Tomoe dismissed her mount back to its plane of existence, ready to call upon it again if it was needed. Tomoe might not be a mage, but she was a decent necromancer, when push came to shove. Arak'Nathal led the troupe, which consisted of about ten Orc foot soldiers, three cavalrymen, the two Spindræ and Tomoe herself into the town and through the biggest of the entrances, and even then that would barely accommodate the two massive arachnids.

Down an impossibly long set of spiraling stairs and through a passageway, they met the gatekeepers, standing stoic and unmoving, and behind them, the registrar with his scroll, ink and quill, eagerly scribbling already.

"And what business does the commander of the Host have in our peaceful town?" he smiled crookedly, showing his yellowing tusk-like teeth. His hand was almost already beginning to reach out; the Host was known for not really upholding moral values, and a bag of gold went a long way in most places.

"Yes, my kind registrar, there are two things that you may be able to do for me today… if that would be okay?" Tomoe purred, dropping two bags of jingling money into his filthy hands. "All my companions and I wish for is passage into _your _wonderful town, and perhaps a little of your _extensive _knowledge?"

He smiled and nodded enthusiastically, his beady eyes transfixed on the beautiful woman and the bags of gold in his claws.

"Do you happen to know if some gypsy friends of mine are in town? A Plainsrunner by the name of Hallard and a human girl with her?" Tomoe was getting quite excited now.

"Well, since you did ask so nicely…" he eyed the gold in his hands again, "I don't think it would hurt to just tell you a bit…"

--0--

meh, I am very evil, but I don't want the plot to get finished too quickly! This was one of my more thought-out stories, in terms of plot, I actually made a story board, though I've lost it again… please, give me constructive criticism, or even just nice reviews. Both make me want to write more!


	6. Chapter 6

New chapter, new viewpoint, gosh I get around…

New chapter, new viewpoint, gosh I get around…

Disclaimer: Sunrise plus budget equals Mai HiME. Emiri plus budget equals plotless yuri smut plus pocky and coke. Go figure why I don't own it.

Chapter 6- Catacombs and Cohorts

The interior of the inn in which they had decided to stay was, optimistically, horrendous to the point that one might lose all hope in life is they had stayed there for a period longer than a few seconds. However. The crew of _The Princess _was by now accustomed to Twyr's less that humane living quarters, and so they stoically sat in their room and attempted to sleep.

There were several problems one encountered when living underground- not least the lack of discernable cycles of the sun, or the claustrophobic living conditions, or the terrible smell that was issuing from the kitchen below; this surely signaled that repast was beginning. Often these days, Chie and her cohorts would barricade themselves in their room when the innkeeper came calling, because the food both smelled and probably tasted similar to the dung that coated the entire Inn.

However, Aoi was an optimist, and thus, a small kindling flame of hope still existed within the group that their travels to Twyr were not in vain. They had contacted the underworld here and requested an audience with one of the principal traders, a wealthy and dishonest man named Trei Swiftfinger. The inn, deceptively named _The Crown_, was certainly no where near to royal standards, and hopefully the crew would only have to stay here for a few days before their audience.

A distant clanging of bells, not rhythmic at all, made Chie's sensitive ears prickle after the relative silence of the room. Once, Twice, Three times. It was the third hour of noon and the time of audience. With one swift motion, the entire crew stood up and gathered their affairs, heading for the door, thankful to finally be rid of the Inn.

Traversing the gloomy tunnels of Twyr with practiced ease, the group dodged persistent street vendors and crooked alleyways, most likely laden with bandits who would take all too kindly to a band of gypsies with a bag of gold. Chie headed the pack, Tate carrying Takumi cradle-style, closely followed by the rest. Wearing thick, hooded travelling cloaks that concealed a number that greatly exceeded the legal limit of weapons, they advanced lower and lower into the proverbial catacombs of The UnderTwyr, the maze of squats, tombs and burrows that housed runaways, outlaws and vagabonds from all reaches of the Land. This was definitely the place for a man akin to Trei Swiftfinger.

The light created by the huge torch-pillar that lighted most of Twyr waned as they descended deeper into the UnderTwyr, Aoi's lantern a solitary beacon of light. The glowworms that nestled on the walls provided an odd, luminous but not effective radiance, and so the crew became vulnerable to pickpockets and thieves, which were commonplace in these tunnels.

All of a sudden, the tunnel they were walking down opened out into a large cavern, complete with stalactites the size of claymores hanging precariously from the distant ceiling, ominously above the group and all too ready to fall. On the far side of the cavern stood and still pond, black and glassy. This was their destination.

Mai stood firm in front of the pond, her arm outstretched and face set, and began to mumble several incomprehensible words that Chie made out as an incantation.

"_Reivœl!_" she cried, a shout that echoed around the cavern, and a few stalactites quivered dangerously. Mai was still and nothing happened for what seemed an eternity, but just as Chie was about to speak, the surface of the pond began to ripple. The water caved in on itself, as though it were being sucked into the lake, and a stairway was revealed, as the water magically drained away. Mai dropped her hands, motioning for the rest to follow. Unsure and wary of whatever traps awaited them with Trei, Chie descended into the gloom.

_-In the palace of his majesty, Magthor, King of Windbloom-_

Natsuki awoke the next morning to a dull throbbing sensation, that hurt all over her body. She cautiously got out of bed and took a swig of her potion before dressing swiftly. She had to be down in the kitchen to spike Magthor's tea, and then up to help Shizuru dress. She was thankful that her busy schedule kept her from pondering the finer points of her predicament.

_I… I'm just not sure any more. At the beginning, I could say with all conviction and certainty that this was just another job. Aye, an unorthodox one, but a job nonetheless. No strings attached and no guilt. However, deep inside me, I believe that something has stirred. I just… I cannot bring myself to face the ultimatum of the king's death, and I can't help but wonder who this benefits. And… what about Shizuru? What will she do with her father dead? What will become of the crumbling pillars of this once happy kingdom? Damn, I just can't seem to think straight!_

Battling with her inner demons, Natsuki slid down one of the many spiral staircases used to discreetly traverse the castle's huge interior. Once down in the kitchen, she checked in with the head maid Maria (who seemed never to sleep- however early or late Natsuki came, she was always here), and went to prepare Magthor's tea. Duly putting in a few drops of the poison, she stirred in a single sugar and brought it over to Maria so that she could take it up. Giving Natsuki a nod of approval, a rare sight indeed, Maria left, leaving her alone in the kitchen with nothing to do until Shizuru woke up in another half-hour.

Deciding that she would take a stroll in the gardens, Natsuki weaved her way through the corridors and out into the open-roofed courtyard, overflowing with beautiful trees that were loosing their leaves fast. The whole area seemed to be ablaze, with hues of brown, red, yellows and hundreds in the spectrum in-between. It was there that she saw King Magthor resting on a bench, his eyes heavily lidded and his face pale. He looked very ill indeed. Natsuki felt an unfamiliar mixture of sensations inside her, which with some consideration, she placed as guilt, pity and remorse. It was an uncomfortable thing to feel, and made one question one's actions.

Natsuki didn't need this: it was her _job _to keep these feelings under control and execute the will of Sergay. All these new conflicts would only make her work harder.

Then, out of the corner of her eyes, Natsuki spotted a movement. Quickly appearing incognito, she strolled out of the courtyard in time to see Miss Maria carrying a tray of tea over to Magthor. Deciding that she could wait in Shizuru's bedroom, Natsuki returned upstairs and left those troubles behind her.

Opening the large doors that led into the princess's chambers, Natsuki was surprised to see no sign of her: Shizuru was obviously not anywhere in her rooms. So Natsuki went to look in the next most obvious place, the bell tower. Before she even got halfway down the stairs, the maid heard the most wonderful sound: it was like the melodic and slow sound of a flute, or a wind instrument. It was Shizuru's mournful voice, singing a ballad that Natsuki had never heard before, but was nevertheless beautiful.

_O'er the lonely peaks of mountains bold,_

_The melancholy wind a secret bears,_

_Within the roots of time is told,_

_But naught the ancient guardsman shares._

_Fly, O, Fly, Dove of my heart,_

_Soar O'er those misty peaks of old,_

_Break from chains to new a'start,_

_And with this love, a new dawn mold._

_Grasping at the red thread of fate,_

_Yet to live within our mortal fold,_

_I will exist, forever reaching, too late,_

_But, O, my heart still flies free of hold._

Shizuru was silent for what seemed like hours after this, and as Natsuki inched up the stairs, she began to see the princess in her nightdress, her silk hair fluttering in the breeze and tears running down her porcelain cheeks. Basic human instinct undermining over ten years of training, Natsuki reacted to those sad tears and rushed up the stairs to attempt to comfort her charge. Shizuru was facing outward, so the best Natsuki could do was gently embrace her from behind. Although Shizuru's crimson eyes slightly widened at this unexpected gesture, she was thankful that her maid was finally opening up to her.

"Natsuki?" she asked curiously.

"Uh… Shizuru, you looked sad. I thought…" Natsuki was obviously uncomfortable with expressing herself in this way, so Shizuru took the initiative.

"So Natsuki does care about me?" She pouted slightly and Natsuki detached and they turned to face each other.

"Eh? N-no! that's not what I meant, I just-"

"Then Natsuki _hates _me?" Shizuru teased, wiping a fake tear from her eye.

At this, Natsuki began stuttering cutely, and blushing furiously. She tried to convey her thoughts to Shizuru, but Kuga had never been a people person, and so she ended up just staying silent whilst Shizuru pointed out all the estates in Windbloom, who owned them, how many wives he had and how many times he'd tried to hit on her. Natsuki was amazed at how much Shizuru knew about everything, and the incredulous look on her face prompted Shizuru to explain.

"Ara, Natsuki, you don't think that all I do as a princess is go to parties and stand on ceremony? I know the politics of Windbloom better than any of the spies and assassins in the city, I'd wager," she giggled, "Speaking of assassins…" Natsuki had to stop herself from tensing up. "I'm worried about father. He seems ill of recent," Shizuru sighed and hung her head.

"If he dies, I can't take the throne, everyone knows that. I'm a human girl: only males can take the throne. I once heard that far away. Across the southern seas, the Dark Elves were governed entirely by women. Entirely! Think about it, Natsuki. People who really know what they're doing making the decisions! Freedom…" she drifted off and got a faraway look in her vermillion eyes.

"Hey, Shizuru, is there anything you've ever really wanted to know about the world?" Natsuki asked, twisting a lock of hair around her finger, a foolish habit that she had been unable to break out of since her younger years.

"My, my, Natsuki. What an odd question. I guess there is one thing, though. I always read legends about Halflings, and I never really was allowed to find out much about them. Do you know anything?"

"Good question, seeing as though I'm quite well versed in that subject. Halflings lived as free creatures: they had an organized system, yes, but one that was very localized and relied heavily on family bonds and trust. Halflings lived in packs, which could just be one branch of a family, several different ones, or a random collection. They have the deepest roots in this kingdom, other than the dwarves.

"but it was their naïve trust that eventually bought about their downfall. A young Halfling named Natsuki fell in love with a human, and left her pack. This caused turmoil and discord, and soon they were fighting amongst themselves. It was this that set off the snowball effect that eventually led to the War of Barren's Plain." Natsuki paused for breath and realized that she was getting too far into this.

"So, you're named after the Halfling that stared the war?" Shizuru asked, unbelieving.

"Not by choice, but yes." Was the reply.

Shizuru was silent for a few minutes before voicing her thoughts. "You speak of Halflings with such familiarity and yearning. Why is this?"

"I want the same as you, Shizuru. I want to be free from all of this and run away to where the grass is always greener, on the other side of the ocean. It's a dream I see coming," Natsuki explained, and promptly blushed. She had just voiced her deepest feelings! That was so unprofessional! Natsuki began panicking, but a light hand on her shoulder caught her attention.

"It is indeed a dream we see coming," she smiled and Natsuki had the oddest feeling: as though butterflies had flown into her stomach and were fluttering around.

"Ne, Shizuru… I know the translation of a Halfling Lay. Want to hear it?" Natsuki asked nervously, her finger getting stuck I her hair because she had been twirling it so much.

"That would be lovely," Shizuru answered.

"_Hills of the North, Rejoice,_

_Bound not a captive free,_

_Raise, in exultant voice,_

_Rise, to follow thee._

_Isles of the Southern Seas,_

_Deep in your coral caves,_

_Pent be each warring breeze,_

_Lulled be your wrestles waves._

_Peaks of the utmost east,_

_Clouded, your heights will see,_

_Paths that are traveled least,_

_Life to each flow'r and tree._

_Plains, in the west, come hence,_

_Join our redeeming song,_

_Come, from your forests dense,_

_Worth is the journey long."_

Natsuki finished singing and looked at Shizuru, waiting for her reaction. The look on her face was unreadable, her mask set over her features.

Very slowly, she whispered to Natsuki, " That was the most beautiful Lay I have ever heard. And it is best sung by the race who wrote it, as you have proved."

--0--

OMG! Cliffhanger. As you are reading this, I hit 5 reviews for the first chapter the night I put it up. Lolz. By the way, the first song/poem, I made up, hence why it sucks. For the second poem, I drew inspiration and a few phrases from a hymn, number 61 in my hymnbook, Little Cornard or something. Just so you know and don't sue me.

Next chappie coming soon

Emiri


	7. Chapter 7

Emiri here with the seventh installment

Emiri here with the seventh installment! Finally, some relationship development, and something interesting finally happens! Sorry to keep you waiting!

Chapter 7- Accusations and Abductions

As they descended deeper into the lake, the corridor widened, and all of a sudden, Mikoto rose on her hackles and growled. A few drops of something fell from the ceiling and landed on Chie's face. Touching it and bringing it to her nose, Chie reeled at the familiar scent: blood.

"Fresh blood. Tread with caution." She whispered, withdrawing her dagger: her bow and sword would be useless, and brass knuckles only went so far. The troupe proceeded towards the glow at the end of the tunnel with tensions hanging in the air. They emerged into the relatively light and very comfy interior of Trei's office: only to find it covered with more sanguine red stains. At his desk sat a malicious but breathtaking sight: a woman, her form, like a demon, but she possessed an ethereal feel as well. She wore full Host champions battle plate: and one either side of her, like guards, were two giant arachnids: Spindræ.

She spoke in broken and heavily accented Commontongue: Chie wondered how on earth she had learned the Allied speech.

"My dear Gypsies! So nice to see you… again." She leaned her armored elbows on Trei's sleek drakewood desk, peering intently at them.

"Tomoe." Chie curtly replied, her sweaty hand clamped around her dagger, knuckles turning white.

"Chie! Long time no see. Not since… Roedrenmon. That was such fun, wasn't it?"

"If you define fun as a slaughter of innocent Halflings and Plainsrunners." Chie replied, her eyes narrowing. "What're you up to, Marguerite? You played this game once before, but I know your plan now. So, spit it."

"My, Chie, can a Host commanders not just catch up with an… _old friend?_" AT this, Chie's eyebrows rose incredulously and Tomoe gave a chuckle. "Obviously not."

Chie felt Aoi timidly clutch onto her cloak and she defensively shielded her. Taking a quick glance backwards, she saw that the rest of her team was okay.

"Hallard, do you happen to remember our problematic little friend at Roedrenmon?"

"How could I forget?" She almost chuckled, but the Spindræ were extremely menacing, and she kept her poker face.

"A wayward Halfling… I think those were the Allied king's exact words. It seems we have a small problem with the baggage we dropped off around here some time ago."

"Quit fuc- oh, God, no. You don't mean to say that the child was…" Chie's face froze in shock.

Tomoe gave a giggle and smiled a menacing smile. "Chie, I want to make a deal with you. I have… certain needs relating to the princess. You need peace and a home, neither of which will happen if the current, quiet battle over the Halfling escalates. So, here it is: you bring me them both, and I pay you enough so that you never have to worry again. Also, I'll server your ties to the Host altogether. Sounds good?"

"What's the catch?" Chie asked suspiciously; Tomoe was not the type that Chie easily trusted.

"No catch. It's actually pretty easy. The Halfling is with the princess in the Keep, the big white one in Windbloom. Once they run away, offer to take them and then deliver them to me."

"What makes you so sure they'll run away?"

"I've never yet been wrong, have I? Anyway, wait on the Allied border and I'll send an emissary to you soon."

"I haven't accepted yet!"

"Yet. But Arak'Nathal-" she pointed to the Spindra on her right, "- really wants you to accept."

Chie, seeing she had no choice, gave a reluctant nod: she had been forced into the situation. And besides, there was a good chance for her. Chie didn't want another War. She knew it was selfish, but she had to protect Aoi from the horrible sights of bloodshed and battle. She turned her back to leave, heart heavy and head swimming. There was utmost silence as they rose into the cavern, and there was one central thought: they were no longer free people.

-In the Palace of Magthor, King of Windbloom-

Calloused fingers running through his thinning beard, Magthor slowly rose from his bed to look out of the giant window upon his kingdom.

"Halflings… such a problematic race. I thought we got rid of them all and Roedrenmon, but now…"

"Your Majesty,' Miss Maria inched through the door, "Miss Natsuki wished to speak with you,"

"Of course. Enter, girl."

Natsuki entered the room and curtseyed to the king. Miss Maria left and Natsuki squarely faced the king.

"What was it you wished to speak of, girl? I am tired, make haste…"

"Yes, your highness. You see, the problem is that I am supposed to be assassinating you."

The maid took out a revolver and fired.

_-Ten minutes previously-_

Natsuki stood, dumbstruck and confused. Her brain struggled to cope with Shizuru's speech. Then, I dawned on her in one rush: she had got too worked up in the lay. She had slipped back into Earthentongue and Shizuru had found out that she was really a Halfling.

"Ah… uh…" Natsuki stuttered, unable to formulate a speech. She was so muddled, her brain was telling her to do two overpowering things at once. One voice told her to whip out her dagger and kill Shizuru.

The other told her to kiss her.

"Arrrrgghhh!" She screamed as the thoughts collided within her head, causing a shooting pain to course through Natsuki's body, and she lost control, sinking to her knees. From where her hands her instinctively clamped over her illusionary human ears, she felt the real, wolven ears re-appear, along with the sensation of her bushy tail re-growing and her fangs sprouting. It was really quite unpleasant.

Shizuru's hand stopped short of covering her mouth in surprise as she beheld this transformation, scared even though she had worked the maid's real identity out already. One word uttered from her lips, over and over, something that her father had drilled into her since the day she could listen.

"Roedrenmon… Roedrenmon…" she mumbled, the story playing once again inside her head. The slaughter that had happened there. A great 'victory' over those that threatened to destroy the peace of the kingdom. But, here it was, proof that they had failed. Natsuki looked so… lonely, the last of her kind, stranded between right and wrong and forced to do things that she abhorred. She carefully lifted her proud head to Shizuru's level, viridian eyes guarded. She spoke, quietly but menacingly.

"Your father… you have no idea what he is. You look upon him as a great ruler and hero of the allied, but he is really…" she paused for effect, "Quite different."

Shizuru was scared. What was this girl saying? Her father was the king, the hero of the allied clans and the ruler that had kept peace for over ten years-

Shizuru felt a soft pair of lips on her own, which were accompanied by a sharp pain and a flash in her head. Images exploded behind her eyes, images of cruelty, bloodshed and battlefields. Then, a cooler, more defined picture, one that played out in her head as if it were a memory. She was looking from the eyes of a small child, and saw a lock of cobalt hair fall from its place behind and ear and obscure half of her vision. Natsuki. She clung on to a long and rough sleeve, revealed to be a tall wolf-man in a calico tunic. He glanced at her, whispering a few words in a guttural tongue.

"Quá-d'nar diursk ha ny-a'er'an c'tá…" Shizuru thought she was well versed in languages, but the structure and style of this, the Halfling's speech, was new to her. From Natsuki's perspective, she saw a row of rough graves, with crude wooden idols and markers sticking up from them. Tears welled up in the young Natsuki's eyes as she asked the wolf-man,

"teoklár?"

"…daen."

"Ha, maeklár?"

"t'kah daen… T'or ekril, Natsuki."

Natsuki began sobbing. Shizuru knew that her parents were gone. What a sad thing- ripped from both your parents at such a young age. Shizuru almost felt a tear come to her own eyes. Then, slowly, she resurfaced into the real world and felt Natsuki detach herself, an expectant look on her face.

After a long pause, Shizuru spoke, low and unsure. "Father… did this? To his own alliance?" she received a curt nod. It seemed that Natsuki could not bring herself to speak either, and Shizuru realized that the memory was infinitely more painful for the girl who had actually experienced it. Shizuru made her mind up.

"Natsuki. If Father really did do this…"

Natsuki sucked in a breath, ready.

"…If he has really turned away from the light…"

"…Then I ask of you…"

"Please, end his torment."

_Present_

Natsuki flinched as the king looked at the hole in his tunic that was rapidly staining the rich material red. He looked levelly into Natsuki's emerald eyes.

"Fool," he breathed, breath coming out in a cloud of black smoke. The smoke slowly began to solidify and a shadow rose from the fallen corpse of King Magthor the First of Windbloom, former.

"_**Fool,**_" the shadow said again in a lower, more sinister voice. It took the rough shape of a man and glared at Natsuki with red, slit-like eyes. "_**Poor little Girl. So alone… you have nobody like you left. They all died. Poor, Foolish little Halfling. Let me put you out of your misery…**_" A bolt of darkness shot and a terrifying speed form the Wraythe, hitting Natsuki squarely on the chest. She coughed and spluttered a few drops of blood, blown back by the force of the impact. Quickly steadying herself and drawing her prized daggers, she shadowstepped to behind the Wraythe, performing and double slash and a kick. Panther formation, straight out of the textbook.

The Wraythe chuckled evilly as Natsuki fell forwards and her leg went straight through its non-corporeal body. Frustrated, she rolled over to the door, seeking to find a vantage point.

_Think, Natsuki, think! I can't kill it physically, but I have very little offensive magic at my disposal… fire would just set this place ablaze… even physical magic is useless!_

"_**That's right, little girl. Your knife is useless. Your magic is useless… do **__**you**__** feel useless? You can't do anything right… you let that pretty princess get to you, didn't you?**_"

"NO!" Natsuki yelled, knuckles white on the grips of her weapons. "I didn't! I would have had to kill him anyway… and I… she wanted…"

"_**Do you honestly think she wanted her daddy dearest to die? Can you face her after this? Think of what she'd say…**_" the Wraythe shifted into a guise of Shizuru and spoke in a mocking voice.

"_**Oh, Natsuki, what have you done! You've killed daddy! You're nothing better than a cold-blooded murderer!"**_

Murderer…

_Murderer…_

"_**Murderer…**_"

"NOOOOOOO!" Natsuki screamed, her body shaking uncontrollably. "I'm not…"

_**Takeda…**_

_**The King…**_

_**All those nameless, faceless targets…**_

_**What about their wives and children, Na-tsu-ki?**_

_**You killed them too, Na-tsu-ki…**_

_**You killed them.**_

_**Who knows… maybe they'll make you kill the pretty princess to make a clean job of it…**_

_**Hmmmm?**_

"Get… out… of… my… head!" She screamed, opening her eyes to find herself face-to-face with the Wraythe.

"_**Shame**_" It said, dissipating instantaneously and leaving the room silent as the grave.

_**You'd make such a good Wraythe…**_

Natsuki did a three-sixty to look for the danger. But it was gone. There was no sound, no movement.

"Natsuki?" came Shizuru's accented voice from the other side of the door. She began to enter, but Natsuki shut her out.

"No, Shizuru… you don't want to see this. Go up to your rooms and pack sparsely. We're leaving." Natsuki heard the patter of footsteps steadily get quieter and assumed Shizuru had gone to do so. Natsuki closed her eyes and concentrated on removing all trace of herself from the room, which would slow the guards in their pursuit of the killer. They'd think that possibly the princess and her maid had been killed too- giving Natsuki and Shizuru a precious week or so of time to get out of the Allied Lands.

Once this was done, she sauntered out of the scene, keen to get away from the dead body. Slipping behind a tapestry, she worked her way up to her rooms, stripping herself of her ostentatious royal maid's uniform in favour of some breeches, comfy boots and a shirt with a leather breastplate. She grabbed her cloak and slung it over herself, pulling the hood over her eyes and the mask up to her nose, insuring that she was not recognized. She took a swig of potion and headed out of the door.

Shizuru was waiting for her, cloak covering her dress, which, Natsuki reasoned, would not be good for traveling. She'd have to get Shizuru some plainer clothes at the first chance. Shizuru had a small pack.

"We got money?" Natsuki asked, noticing the distinct lack of it in her wallet.

Shizuru smiled and winked. "Of course. I took the liberty of taking out a bit of my savings…" she presented a heavy bag of coins. Natsuki held it and gasped.

"There must be at least 400 gold in here! Are you mad!"

"Better to be prepared, we may need horses…" Shizuru reasoned.

Natsuki grudgingly set about hiding money in every crevice she had concealed in her outfit, in her boots, her breastplate, thousands of tiny pockets in her breeches and on the inside lining of her cloak. They how had a less conspicuous 50 gold in the purse, around what a lucky merchant would carry.

Natsuki turned to Shizuru and gave her a look. "You ready?"

Shizuru just nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Her Father, the last of her family, was dead. The kingdom would collapse. She was on the run with the only Halfling alive.

It could only go uphill from here, surely.

0-0-0-0-0

sorry about the HUGE delay! I was dealing with exams, other stories and the usual shit. Thanks for reviewing, alerting or favouriting! You guys get a free peacock!

Emiri


	8. authoress's note

Hey everyone. Wowie, long time not see, ShitNat-ers. Basically, longs story short, boarding school, GCSEs, girls, etc, etc. Plus my memory stick is playing truant, so I don't have any of the stuff I wrote before. Just to make it known, I do intend to continue both ATP and TBD. I will resume writing in the easter holidays. I'm coming to America to visit most of you! Catch me in Allentown, PA. Well, not really, but I'm the blonde one laughing too loud or swearing at you or poorly imitating your accent.

Yours regretfully, guiltily, shamefully and hungrily,

~Emiri


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Escaping and Evading

Morning dawned on a rotten Windbloom. Merchants bustled around busily, criers ran through the streets, gulls squawked- any other crisp day could be like this.

The King is dead. Long live the king.

Windbloom was teetering over the brink of destruction. Seers could feel it in their bones as they massed on street corners and pulled their shawls tighter around themselves. The proud guards that patrolled the city trembled almost unnoticeably. People milled around the market quarter, quietly going about their business.

**Bang.**

The musket shot was heard citywide. Stood in the throng of somber people was Sergay of Family Wang, an important political leader. The square hushed to listen to his message.

"People of Windbloom." He said, eyes steely. "Our King is dead."

-In a Forest East of Windbloom-

"I can almost feel it, Natsuki," Shizuru murmured, looking wistfully back at her city. "It shouldn't have to be like this. That Wraythe shouldn't have possessed Father. We shouldn't have to flee the city-"

"Shut up. Anyone could be listening." Growled the Halfling, hand nervously fidgeting with the pommel of her right-hand dagger. "And, for the record, you can say 'shouldn't' as many times as you like, but the situation won't change."

"I know," Shizuru sighed. "Where are we going?"

Natsuki's mouth curled into a grimace. "Where everyone who has no place in this kingdom goes."

A moment of silence enveloped them before Shizuru realized. "Barren's Plain…" she mused, trying it on her tongue. "It must be really hard for you to go back there."

"I lived there for four years. not much compared to Windbloom," Natsuki explained, voice quiet. " But I owe the place some of the most haunting memories of my life."

Shizuru shuddered as she remembered the memory Natsuki had shown her. Her cheeks reddened as she remembered how she had seen the vision: through a kiss with Natsuki. She felt her lips, feeling changed. More alive, and in some ways, world weary. The whole world stretched across her horizon, a prospect that filled her with glee; though this was contrasted with her regrets, her doubts, and the fact that her father was dead and she was running into the desert with his killer. The world was confusing.

Hey trudged through the forest for another couple of hours, Shizuru regretting skipping fencing and dance lessons because she was soon out of breath. After another two hours, in which there were only a total of 20 words spoken, the princess was exhausted.

"Um, Natsuki?" she gasped, leaning onto a tree. "Are we nearly there?"

Natsuki chuckled and checked the sky through the thin veil of green. "Well it's about another league to the village I want to stop at."

Shizuru perked up. "Good. Then we can stop at an inn. I'm near-dead." She mused, breathing normally as a thought occurred to her. "Do we get to share a bed?" an eyebrow rose suggestively.

Natsuki's cheeks redden. "Um… I like sleeping on the floor. It will be fine."

She turned on her heels and briskly walked off into the forest, leaving Shizuru to jog to catch up. "Shizuru." She said, voice weighted

"Yes, Natsuki?"

"We're going to Roedrenmon."

The silence was thick enough to cut with a dagger. Shizuru regained her speech first. "It's a long journey. Not even you can navigate the Plains by yourself."

"I know." She sighed, stepping over a buttress root. "We'll stow on a land vessel to either Twyr or En'Terrek- I know that the Alkatryz are welcoming, and liberal. We can pick up a party headed that side of the plain- it's southeasterly, so that would mean skirting around Host territory for about a tenday… ummm…" she struggled with the calculations. "If we make good time, about a month."

"A month of travel just to get to Roedrenmon? Isn't it just a swampy graveyard now?" Shizuru immediately regretted her words. Natsuki stopped and turned to her angrily.

"Yes, SHizuru. It's _just a swampy graveyard_. I'm _just the last Halfling_. It's my birthplace, my culture. It's my ancestors and their ancestors and the place where my Gods are most present. It's the last place I saw my mother, cradling my little brother as he cried at the screams. It's the last place I saw my father, a spear jutting from his back. It's the last place Halfling screamed with fear, with joy, with surprise. It's _just a swampy graveyard_, Shizuru."

"I didn't mean that!" Shizuru watched Natsuki run off into the forest, tears streaming form her eyes. "You stupid girl!" she scolded herself. "Stupid, stupid, spoilt brat."

She looked around. Wow… the forest looked very scary now Natsuki wasn't there to guide her. And she didn't know the way to the village.

"Drat."

Sorry, short, fillerish, but I'm back after a long time. TBD will be coming back tomorrow morning. It's 1am and I have an English coursework on much ado about nothing due Thursday that I haven't even thought about yet. Methinks the lady doth procrastinate too much! Was my comeback better than Michael Jackson's this month? Review!

~Emiri


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Wishing and Wandering

Shizuru was frightened. Not the sort of frightened stomach-lurch she used to get before having to go out into the courtroom or to attend public functioned, but genuinely scared fro her life. After Natsuki had left, her anger seemed to have translated into the weather, and a chilling wind was buffeting the trees. Shizuru knew the wood, though not intimately, as she had accompanied her father on hunts whens he was smaller.

Her father. She remembered him from those years- how his eyes sparkled and the skin next to them crinkled when he smiled, as he so often did; how his beard was full and black, his thick head of hair cushioned the crown of Windbloom like it could never belong anywhere else. How she would ride on his broad shoulders, and sit with him and watch Mashiro sleeping in her cot. Unbidden, thoughts of he mother came to her, but she blocked them out, not wanting to feel any more hopeless than she already was. She hudded under a large Onin tree, watching the remainder of the heart-shaped leaves blow off in the storm. Pulling her cloak tighter, she shivered with fear and cold.

Somehow, Shizuru managed to drift into a troubled sleep. Her mind tortured her with images of her father and the Wraythe. How long had that thing been influencing his decisions? How long had he no onger been the father she had known?

-_Barren's Plain_-

"Chie! Reel in the mainsail!" Tate cried, furiously winching in the spinnaker of the _Princess_. Out in the Plain, the weather was often more extreme than over the borders. The ship teetered dangerously as the hurricane winds pushed against the grand sails, mast creaking with the effort. "Aoi, can you go belowdeck and get Mai and Mikoto up? We need someone on the nest to get a clear direction."

Aoi complied and ran through the hatch as Tate and Chie struggled in the howling wind. They hadn't had a storm quite this bad in years, so panic ran through the crew as they rushed about, anxious not to crash their beloved vessel. They had to make it to the Allied side of the Plain in time to meet with the Princess of Windbloom and her Halfling.

As the _Princess_ lurched to the left again, Chie climbed down from the mainsail and ran across to the helm, which was locked in place, seeing as the wind was really too strong to navigate precisely in. They had set out from Twyr with heavy hearts, but the joy of sailing had quickly rejuvenated them, and they no longer really focused on the fact that they were working for Tomoe.

There were sme repercussions, however. There was new tension on board, owing to the fact that Mai had now been given a small pendant that linked her with Tomoe to receive orders. And the mention of Roedrenmon.

Chie had never mentioned what happened there to anybody.

_The Plainsrunner was young and restless. Her charcoal hair gleamed in the sun as she surveyed the paradise in which she lived. Perhaps, too much of a paradise. Pushing through the foliage, she soon came across the small settlement she called home, the delightful scent of roasting nuts ticking her nostrils. Upon reaching the entrance to her home, she called out in Earthentongue to her mother._

"_I've returned!" she cried, hitching her bag of spoils back onto her shoulder. She walked right in. The village had no need for doors or locks or fortifications. This was Forren, after all, the paradise of the Kingdom. Between large open plains of plentiful wheat and grasses and light forests, punctuated by small lakes, it was truly the Promised Land. The territory was never contested; the unspoken agreement was that Plainsrunners settled west of the roaring river Tor, in their small village settlements and treetop cities. To the east, the Alkatryz, in their great shambolic city of En'Terrek. Trade passed freely across the river. To the far west, the Allied Lands, and to the far east, the Host Tribes. That was the world to Chie._

_Her mother emerged from the kitchen and smiled warmly at the sight of her eldest. "What did you bring home, daughter? Hurry, the stone is at full heat."_

"_We will eat well- a young doe." She smiled like she was really pleased with herself. But Chie was beginning to tire of village life. She wanted to see the world, to taste the salty tang of the sea, to run over new plains._

"_The gods smile upon us, it seems," her mother said, accepting the outstretched offer of the rough calico sack and bustling back into the kitchen to roast it on the stone. Chie agreed and exited the dwelling, basking in the warm light. She called out to her mother quickly before running off though the undergrowth. With her superior Plainsrunner speed, she reached the river in five minutes, not out of breath. She set about for a long supple branch with which to form a fishing rod. Stripping and attaching some thin thread to it, she looped the hook and bait onto the end and cast out, sitting peacefully._

_An hour or so passed, and Chie had two trout beside her by the time the sun began to blaze with less vigour. Seeing that it was time to return home, she began to pack up her things. A call touched her ears lightly and she looked around to see where it had come from. Finding no disturbance, she finished gathering her things and began home, slower, this time, to avoid the company of Tate, a boy who obviously had her on his mind. He came around her dwelling at about the same time regularly; hoping to catch her, but never prevailed. _

_The call again reached Chie, this time louder. Then another. A particularly triumphant hunting party? She decided to step up her pace, wanting to welcome them home. Her father might be among them._

_As she reached the outskirts of her village, she was surprised to smell the bonfire already. It must have been an amazing hunt, as the bonfire was never lit before sunset. Parting the trees, she gasped. There was no bonfire, nor hunting party. Just flames, everywhere. Just bodies littering the floor. The trees had been chopped down and the grass turned to ash by fire. As she screamed against her will, but a hand cupped her mouth and pulled her back. She stared into Tate's brown eyes in confusion._

"_Hush," he said. "There's nothing we can do here. We must join the Stand."_

"_Stand?"_

"_They are killing everyone," he explained, his eleven-summer face darkened and crusted with blood coming from a gash on his temple. "They are burning everything."_

"_Why?" Chie sobbed at the thought of her parents. "My family! My brothers…"_

"_Chie, it is the same for all of us."_

"_I know. It's just… What of En'Terrek?"_

_Tate's face crumpled. "They do not care for the Alkatryz. They want to kill just us and the furry ones to the far south of the river. Them in their city of crystals."_

"_Why?" Was Chie's only word, she stood, enthralled by the fire. "Why them?"_

"_She said they are bad. Tall woman, like a ghost, rode a dead horse, hair as green as the grass. She said they're evil."_

"_They're not! 'Member little Natty? Wolfy one. 'Member when her daddy came here to talk to your daddy? He smiled a lot. He's not evil."_

"'_xactly. That's why we're joining the Stand. Them down in the furry country, at the big crystal city. They're Standing. Them are gonna fight the ghost woman and her snarly guys. Eni told me."_

"_Eni?" Chie asked._

"_Alkatryz. She's same age as us. I met her couple weeks ago- she's nice. She said that when stuff burns, we should Stand in the crystal city."_

"_Okay. How do we get there?" Chie balled her fists up. Of course she was going to fight. Fight for her family and her people._

_Tate shifted uncomfortably. "Eni gave me a map, but we got be quick. She says the ghost woman has to go slow 'coz she had a lot of snarly guys who are slow."_

_The gravitas of the situation faded for a moment as Chie slipped back to her childish persona and teased Tate. "What else did this Eni give you? Anything I should know about?"_

_Tate reddened. "Nothing!" he squeaked. "She doesn't like me that way."_

"_But you like her?"_

"_No!"_

"Chie? Hello?" Tate's now nearly twenty-summer face peered at her. Realising she had been spaced out for ages and the ship was still leaning obtusely to the left, Chie busied herself with the care of the ship.

-_Eastwind Forest_-

Nastuki had changed back to her Halfling form. Whilst it gave her great physical freedom, it did nothing to improve her clearness of mind. She had been trained by Sergay not to think of anything in the past: it hindered her training. However, now that she was on the run, memories came to her in a torrent of ten-winters worth of repression. Images of her parents, her friends.

_Forren was very different to Roedrenmon. In the crystal city, the foliage was mostly grasses, trees and fungi, but here was a lush diversity of jungle, fields, crops and huge great trees, most of which Natsuki could not name. She held her father's hand tightly. The journey had been long but jolly, and Natsuki continuously marveled at the lush and seemingly infinite plains that had begun as soon as she left the swampy land of the south. Her small but sensitive ears perked at the laughter of children fro her right. She tugged on her father's sleeve and he bent down to hear her._

"_Taeklàr," she asked, her voice full of excitement. "Can I go play with those children?"_

_Her father smiled at her, his bushy tail swishing happily behind him. She could tell from his scent that he was just as excited to be here as she was. "'Course, Mae'nàn. Stay around the area, yes?"_

_Natsuki nodded and bounded off. She came across two children, older than her, but her species grew faster than the playrunners. That was what her father had called them. Her speech, at six summers, was relatively basic compared to other species, as Halflings used other ways of conveying messages. She bounded up to the two playrunners on all-fours. _

"_Hello," she said, smiling at them with a huge grin, showing her mouth of developing teeth. "I'm Natsuki,"_

_The younger one, a girl, walked to her, though her brow was furrowed. They both spoke Earthentongue, but the dialect and accent was quite different. "Natty?" she asked._

_Deciding Natty was fine, she nodded vigorously, her tail whooshing from side to side furiously. Natsuki loved all the new smells, new plants, even new air. She liked these playrunners too. The stood two-legged, and were quite stocking built, but had long, powerful legs and feet with three toes. The older boy, who had dark hair, though not as dark as the girl's, has light swirlies on his legs as well. They wore simple shirts and breeches._

"_I'm Chey," she said. "This is Tah-tye."_

_Natsuki nodded at both of them. They showed her their favourite hangouts and then took her to the river. Natsuki howled with amazement at it. Down south. The river was a delta, but here is was long and meandering and crystal-clear. Chie and Tate took her to a shallow ox-bow part where they swum and played all afternoon. Nastuki dived in and emerged second later, triumphant, with a small fish in her mouth. The roasted it and drank the clear water._

Natsuki was not shivering. Her coat was keeping her warm. She thought of Shizuru, along at night in the forest with just a cloak. Though she felt bad for her, Natsuki was still seething at having her ancestral home blasphemed, and was in no mood to go back to the Princess. She needed to learn her boundaries.

It would be a cold night.

A/N: There you go. A nearly full-length chapter, not heavy on action or moving the story along much, but it does give some insight into the past. And the past plays a big party in the coming chapters.

Taeklar- used it earlier- father in Earthentongue.

Mae'nan- Daughter. (like Maeklar is mum, so son would be…. Answer in a review!)

As for Eni, I actually wrote a story about her. I may publish it on FictionPress, if your interested, I'm Sakurazaki-Emiri there as well. Not got anything on tere at the mo, just deleted a crappy story off.

Please review, alert, fave, whatever! Good to be back 


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Secrets and Sandships

"Where is Shizuru?"

"Misstress Shizuru!? Where are you?"

"I cannot locate the mistress…"

There was no need to keep voices hushed as was customary in court. The King was dead. His daughter was missing, along with the newest maid. Sergay ran his fingers through his thick blonde hair, surveying the scene. His intention had not been to get rid of the princess, just her father. Just the Wraythe that had possessed him. He needed to talk to Nagi. This was bad.

"You called, Sir Gay?" Sergay heard the child's mocking tone, and turned slowly to meet him.

"You shouldn't be here, Nagi. People will talk." He felt silly reprimanding the boy.

"_People_ are silly. And quite unaware of their surroundings. Nobody will see me, Sir Gay." Bristling slightly at being called that, the courtier unclenched his fists. "Anyway, this is quite interesting, ne?"

"The kingdom is in great distress."

"I love me a bit of distress," Nagi snickered, leaning back against the cold palace stone wall. "And besides, what do you care? You raised the girl. You sent her to do it,"

"And you masterminded it all. I'm beginning to think that there's something you're not sharing with me," Sergay tried to keep his tone steady. "You visited Magthor too. You pretend to do people's dirty work, then manipulate them. You're not a boy or an elf or even a spirit being. I'm not going to continue working with- or rather, _for_- you."

Nagi regarded him coolly, but amusement made his lips twitch. "What makes you think you have a choice? And besides, the damage is done now."

"What's your plan, Nagi? Why do you want another war?" Sergay angrily shot at him, almost stepping forward to shake the kid.

"I am merely trying to achieve what my brother tried to prevent: another war."

Sergay's eyes widened in surprise. "Your brother?"

"You're acquainted with him." Was the only reply Nagi gave. "War is always more interesting that peace, Lord Wang…"

And then, a gust of wind blew Nagi away.

"That bastard!" Sergay cried at the futility of his humanity. Was he really that much of a pawn?

-_The Red Star Inn_-

Natsuki nursed a steaming cup of hot myre-leaf tea, feeling like crap. In fact she had felt like crap ever since she left Shizuru in the forest and started recounting her past. Another dose of potion had not helped things. The innkeeper regarded her with sad eyes- this was her third cup of tea. Myre-leaf was known for it's herbal properties, and made people drowsy, but the girl seemed to look fine, just haggard beyond her years. Her silky blue hair was tousled and her clothes looked many times worn. She had discarded that silly maid's garb and changed into clothing more appropriate for travel.

_The question is, will I be traveling any more?_ Natsuki mused to herself as she sipped the drink. _Shizuru has probably been hacked to bits by forest wolves by now._

Natsuki shivered at the thought, and suddenly her chest ached terribly.

_Why do I feel like this? It's not like I care for the stupid girl. Shizuru is another human pawn in this mad game of Chess. I'd just like to know who's playing it and why._

Would she really get answers from going back to Roedrenmon, though?

_Yes._ She assured herself._ I have to, if to do nothing more than honour my family._

Still uncomfortable with herself, Natsuki drained her cup and set it down on the chipped windwood table. Seeing this, the innkeeper walked over to her and picked the cup up.

"Would you like another, ma'am?" She asked.

"No." Natsuki rudely replied. "Give me a tankard of your strongest, bitterest ale."

The innkeeper regarded the girl in shock, but decided against arguing with her. She scuffled back to behind the bar to get a tankard of Dragon's Elixir, the strongest ale she stocked. Men drank it when they wanted to get merry, quickly. The barroom of the inn was about half-full, which was saying something for this late. Her rooms has been fully booked up since Harvest, and were so nearly all the way through Hallows and into mid-Yule, where people did not travel as the roads would be blocked up with snow.

-_Eastwind Forest_-

"My, my, what have we here?" He looked like a child. Shizuru regarded him through her freezing haze with curiosity and wariness.

"Who are you?" she asked, wishing she had a weapon. The boy looked shifty.

He smirked. "I was an- ah, _acquaintance_ of your father's. The name's Nagi." He held out a small hand. Knowing better than to take it, Shizuru pressed herself farther back against the tree she was leaning on. He frowned.

"I'm being nice. It's cold and windy out here, and there's a pack of mangy wolves around these parts. You should find somewhere to stay…"

"I am fine here." She stated coldly.

Nagi's eyebrows rose. "You really expect me to believe that?"

"No, but it reassures me a little…" Shizuru sighed. "My… my guide deserted me."

The child was suddenly not so happy. "How careless of her." Shizuru's eyes narrowed.

"I never said it was a _her_, Nagi."

He snickered. "Oh, that's right. Silly me." Nagi's face became serious beyond his outward years. "There's an Inn called the Red Star on the other side of the forest. She's waiting for you there."

Shizuru stood up and regarded him. "You know this… how?"

He shrugged. " I know a lot of things. A piece of parchment can only be folded in half 7 times, Windbloom had 4 statues of your father in it, and the like. However… you don't know anything."

Shizuru snorted at his ego, forgetting his power. "I know some things."

"So you think you deserve power?" He asked, eyes blazing like a predator. "You think that you deserve more than the human lot life has dealt you?"

Shizuru didn't like his tone, but considered the strange boys words. Her life had been perfect up until a month ago. Well, as perfect as it could get. And suddenly, she was thrust into a situation in which she was useless, merely a hindrance. She had no power beyond her charm. Shizuru relied on Natsuki.

"Yes." She said after her thoughts. The word was weighed and calculated, though, as she did not know what the boy's next move would be.

He clapped his hands together and smiled in what, in any other boy, would seem like childish glee, but on Nagi looked more like an evil grin.

"Your wish is my command, _Princess_."

-_The Red Star Inn_-

The back of Natsuki's neck prickled uncomfortably. Slipping back into Kuga mode, she didn't bother to swig the last of her Dragon's Elixir as she shot up and ran out of the door of the Inn; leaving the occupants gazing at the space she had occupied moments earlier. The feeling was unfamiliar to Kuga, but she somehow knew it. Shizuru was in danger. She slipped the daggers that she had been longing to use for what seemed like decades out of their sheathes and gripped them with a practiced hand, one held like a normal knife and the other blade facing the floor instead of the sky. Her eyes narrowed as she flitted through the forest. As it was night, and her Halfling eyesight was never good to begin with and under the potion's influence it was probably worse than a normal human's, she concentrated on smell. A forest was generally a difficult place to bring out smells, as the array of trees and flowers cloaked it in a heavy perfume, but Natsuki's nose was sharp and she eventually picked out the smell of sweat and blood, the usual indicators of human presence.

Once she reached the small circle of trees that Shizuru was hiding under the shelter of, Natsuki's nose was reeling. Her Halfling senses had been more of a disadvantage that a blessing back in Windbloom, so she had grown used to subduing them for the sake of her sanity. After using the potion for a while, she had lost the automatic suppression, and now her senses were on overdrive, which was a good thing.

When Natsuki burst through the trees, readying herself to strike at the assailant, she faltered and pulled back her blow. A child stood nonchalantly near Shizuru, his face jovial and body language relaxed. His off-white hair, a pale green almost, practically shone in the dark forest, and his pinkish eyes were fixed on her, sizing the assassin up.

"The little doggy's come out to play!" He exclaimed gleefully. "I looked upon you many times, but to actually meet you in person, _Natsuki_, I am _honoured_!"

Natsuki suppressed a growl at the boy's mocking tone. Soon enough, though, her nose picked up just one human scent. The boy was not human, nor any organic being Natsuki had previously smelled.

"I am no dog," she said, voice low and husky. "You need to step away from her."

He raised an eyebrow. "Mmm. Tempting, but we're besties now, ne, Shizuru? And besides, you _did_ abandon her, all alone in this nasty forest…"

Silence.

And Nagi had a dagger through his heart.

He looked down at it with surprise and interest. "My," he exclaimed, turning to see Kuga. "I knew you were quick, but not _this_ quick!" He then reached around to his back and pulled the dagger out in one swift motion, contempt on his face as he looked down at the bloodstain that was rapidly dying his starched white shirt. "Shame," he sighed. "I liked this shirt. And this body, too. You made me annoyed, Doggy."

Natsuki, however, could not retort, as he was dangling several feet of the forest floor grasping her neck in desperation. Nagi turned to see Shizuru under the tree, paralyzed with fright.

"Ne, Shizuru-chan," He said, briefly looking at the struggling Natsuki. She went limp. "You said you wanted to protect her, right?" It was a rhetorical question. "Well, here's your chance."

Nagi smiled and waved goodbye, before a gust of wind blew him away.

"Natsuki!" Shizuru cried, as she was un-paralyzed, stumbling over to the Halfling. "Natsuki? Wake up!" She shook the body, and Natsuki made a choking sound before resuming regular breathing, albeit in an unconscious state. Shizuru was suddenly very, very scared. More scared than she had been earlier, more scared than when she had glimpsed the Wraythe inside her father. The wind picked up and her chestnut hair blew around her, obscuring her vision. She knelt by Natsuki's side, holding her arm tenderly. Even in the midst of fear and confusion and her life being torn apart, she couldn't help notice how cute she looked, almost as if she were sleeping. Shizuru reflected on herself. Maybe… maybe she had been waiting so long and looking out for her knight in shining armour, she had missed her knight in worn leathers, her knight who was maybe not male. Shizuru considered it, an odd feeling welling up in her stomach. Was she perverse? These feelings were forbidden in Windbloom, the last man to admit to such practices being exiled to barren's Plain.

She decided she would feel better if she put it aside for the time being, as there were more pressing matters than her sexual identity to attend to.

"I do not like women," she said out loud, like a mantra. She concentrated on breathing and repeating the phrase to the comatose Nastuki.

A low snicker punctuated her bubble of repression. "Good fing that, love, 'coz if it wur, me an me boys wudn't have 's much fun," The voice was guttural and heavily accented, hailing from the far north-eastern of the Allied lands, maybe Farthen or even as far as Orner, the border city between them and Barren's Plain. Natsuki and Shizuru had been planning to avoid it at all costs; Orner was not a family-friendly experience.

She slowly looked up to see the man approaching her, a few strides in front of his 'boys'. They were thickset and scruffy, their beards tangled and matted. They stank of ale.

"Arn' you a pretty 'un!" he gleefully exclaimed, lecherously looking Shizuru over. "Whut's yer name, beautiful?"

"None of your business."

The men roared with laughter, one even having to steady himself on a tree. "Thut's a pretty long name, gurlie. What'd two lovelies like yourselves be doin' a roamin' around this forest so late. Eh?"

His breath stank as he crouched to lower himself to Shizuru's level. He finished surveying her and looked to Nastuki. Seeing her as easy prey, he gestured for his men to come over, and Shizuru felt a rough pair of hands grab her on both sides, pulling her into a bone-crunching embrace.

"Yur a bit o' a smart 'un, None o' Yer Business, but yur friendie here's easy pickin's."

"Get off her!" Shizuru shrieked, pulling against the man's hold furiously, but to no avail. "Don't touch Natsuki!"

The leader chucked. "What a lovely name. Firs' rule o' courting', find out her name. But I guess I shud tell 'er mine. Hello, Natsuki, name's Shinichi. Most o' me mates call me Hich, tho." He reached down and grasped her limp hand in a mock handshake. He went into a falsetto to imitate what he thought Natsuki would sound like.

"Why, hello, Hich. How lovely it is to make yur acquaintance. You have such big muscles arms, Hich. You set me heart a'flutterin'," His boys laughed hysterically, like hyenas in a pack.

It was then that he reached down to touch Natsuki's breasts. As soon as his hands made contact, all hell broke loose within Shizuru. Her head and stomach exploded into a reddened state in which she could only feel total and primal hate for Hich. She felt her limbs become leaden and her body detached as she struck wildly at the man behind her. She screamed, the noise causing birds to fly out of the trees. Lunging at Hich, who wasn't expecting it, she had not time to wonder what it was she was doing, nor how. There was only Natsuki, and the man causing her harm. And soon, he was no more. She tore at his flesh, ripping him apart strip by strip. She saw the light leave his eyes. And she smiled.

But her Natsuki was not yet safe. The man who had held her was next. His fearful face was quickly shredded into strips of gore and his cries were mere gurgles. The lights left his eyes, too. And the next man, and the next. Until there was only Natsuki, like at the beginning. She saw Natsuki, lying there, sweet as a child and oblivious to it all. Shizuru knew she had to protect her, even if she fronted herself as a touch assassin. No other feeling she had ever experienced rivaled the contentment and glee that coursed through her veins from protecting the cobalt-haired Halfling. It filled her body, from head to toe, and radiated off her in waves of pleasure.

"My Natsuki," she breathed, savouring her name. There was no doubt now that she liked the girl more than a friend. "Hmmmm?" she felt the pleasure ebb from her body. She looked around at the world as the red colouration left it. The delightful feeling of power that had filled her was suddenly sapped away, and her conscience chose this minute to return. Shizuru stared wide-eyed at the bodies that littered the clearing. She looked at Natsuki, then at the mangled remains of Hich and the blood that covered her hands.

"What have I done?"

-_Orner_-

Chie did not like the idea of docking the _Princess_. The dockmaster was a gangly goblin with long, thin fingers and a smile that made her shudder involuntarily. She turned to Tate. "You want to stay here while I go out for provisions and a little tongue-wagging?"

Tate looked uncomfortable. Long ago, when they were youngsters, Chie had thought Tate had a crush on her. He had actually been trying to approach her to become friends, as he had found out that he was the child of a tryst between Chie's father and his own mother before he had married Chie's mother and given birth to the dark-haired girl that stood before him. He had since explained this, and in turn had expressed to Chie his plans to ask Mai to marry him when they had completed the mission for Tomoe. The woman had since given him space, but he was anxious to regain their sibling relationship.

"I think that you should go with someone else. A young, lone girl is tempting for these folk."

She nodded. "Aye- Mikoto, you can come with me." After a bit of protest about being surgically removed form Mai, Mikoto hauled her huge, heavy broadsword on her shoulder and left with Chie, whose weapon of choice was a longbow and a quiver of arrows slung across her bag and a small amber-encrusted dagger. They both carried empty sack in which they hoped to put provisions. Chie also brought the listening device she had pilfered long ago from the caravan of the Allied Emissary to the Kyrie people of the Sea of Sorcerers to the far west. He was really a stupid man- Takeda-something. She had expected he wouldn't be around much longer if Windbloom politics intervened.

Chie and Mikoto walked through the rickety streets of Orner, sticking to the main road. A back-ally here spelt death or rape and then death. Or even death and then rape. They proceeded cautiously to the market area and bought their goods quickly. Chie put the little magical earpiece in and almost cried out from the magnification, but quickly attuned it.

The men at the fur stall were arguing over prostitutes. A woman eating a sugared bun and gossiping to her friend spoke of which nobles they thought were more handsome. Then, Chie heard the royal fanfare in the distance. The people couldn't hear it yet, though. They milled around normally.

"Mikoto," she said over the hum of chatter and everyday noise. "Follow closely." The small girl obeyed and grabbed the back of Chie's shirt as she hastily pushed through the market crowd and towards the main road. Chie heard the envoy.

"People of Orner, border city. The Steward of Windbloom, Councilor Bravefist, wished that you all know of the plight of your kingdom," rang the voice of Sergay Wang, magnified by magic. "The king has been murdered and the current main suspect is one maid in his household. The maid, of unknown origin, is also believed to be keeping Princess Shizuru hostage. Wanted posters will be posted in all towns and cities, and anyone with genuine information should go straight to the city guard. We need the Princess back as soon as possible."

And with that, Chie and Mikoto were gone. Intrigues between nobles or rich travelers across the Plain could wait- this was make or break news. They ran through the sprawling streets back to the _Princess_.

"Tate," Chie shouted at the empty deck. She was worried for a minute, but a shock of blondish hair soon poked out from belowdeck inquisitively.

"What is it? I was napping."

Chie was going to scold him from sleeping on the job, but there was more important things to speak about. "The King of Windbloom is dead and Shizuru is missing."

Tate took a minute to digest that. "Then surely all we have to do is pick her up when she comes here?"

"She's traveling with a maid, the one that supposedly killed her father. Suspicious? Well, they say it's a kidnap, but Tomoe knows better. They're not going to come to Orner- as we speak, wanted posters are being plastered into every crack of this city."

Tate's brow creased. "Then how are we to find her?"

"I can help there." Mai emerged from belowdeck. "I sensed a great magical disturbance in Eastwind forest last night. I figure wherever chaos is, the Princess and her Ha- Maid will be near. I just need to follow their tracks and we can meet up with them. I already know they didn't plan to go to Orner anyway."

It was Chie's turn to look confused. "How?"

Mai shrugged. "I wasn't just to me- any priest or mage around would have heard it. A seemingly useless projection of feelings and thoughts- along the lines of a man's accent sounding like he was from around here, a strong revulsion and the fact that 'me and Natsuki' were going to avoid it."

"Natsuki…" Chie's eyes moistened. "Natsuki? Can you pull up an image?"

Mai shook her head. "The projection disappeared and tracing it is impossible now, it's too stale. If another comes, I'll alert you."

"Natsuki…" Tate looked at Chie. "Lots of dwelling on the past, eh? Wonder which one it is." He smiled goofily. Chie smiled back weakly.

"_Natsuki?" Chie enquired, looking first at the short, cerulean-haired Halfling, then up at the tall and imposing man, his eyes sparkling with passion for his home. His dark green hair fell over his face- he had lost the band that kept his eyes clear in the last battle, and his ears were twitching with amusement._

"_Aye. We both bear that name," he explained to Chie. His Earthentongue was better than Natty's, so she heard the name clearly. She looked doubtfully at Tate, and he gazed back with a new flame in his eyes. "So," Natsuki said. "You come to Stand with me against Tomoe and her minions?"_

_Tate nodded. "Our home village was destroyed. We are only ones left."_

_Natsuki looked at them with the sympathy of generations. He could not have been more than thirty summers, but his eyes looked immortal. "You are welcome. We always have need of those opposed to darkness." He looked down at Natty. "Don't we, little one?"_

"_Of course, onii-chan." He chuckled. _

"_I am not your big brother by blood, Natsuki."_

"_No," smiled. "But you are all I have left."_

_The simple statement turned the mood sour. Natsuki's amber eyes were suddenly sharp and gleamed with courage and love of his people. _

"_Aye, Little One. Tate, Chie, I have work for you. Could you rouse the Stand? I feel imminent fighting."_

_The three of them nodded and ran off, but not before he had ruffled Natsuki's shoulder length hair affectionately. Chie saw the gesture and the love between them._

_In those moments before the world was ruined irreversibly._

_-0-0-0-0-_

HeyHey! Super-long chappy here, got some action, some vague confusing ShizNat, some Chie, some rapists and an odd progression with Nagi's 'gift' to Shizuru… it's heating up. Soon, The crew of the Princess will meet our escapees. Will they fold to Tomoe's contract or break away? Will there be war? What of the mysterious male Natsuki?

What the fuck IS Nagi, anyway?

Reviews, yah?


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Madness and Meetings

Chief Shaman Battle-Commander Tomoe, Fearless Champion of the Host had a long title that summed up in one word: powerful. As she looked out onto the vast desert of Barren's Plain with a mixture of apathy and annoyance, the leader of the Host Tribes allowed herself a few minutes of weakness. Being the leader she was, she had to maintain the image of powerful and sturdy. Now, her authority had been compromise by that blasted Elf and her Spindræ Arak'Nathal and Tha'Tzul who traveled beside her, and had not left her side except for standing outside her door while she slept.

The other irritation she faced was the amulet she had given to the priestess. Though it provided her with a detailed view of everything happening aboard the _Princess_, she was bombarded by the thoughts and musings of the wretched priestess all the time she wore it.

Now, it was safely stowed in the saddlebags of her horse- or what was left of it after she had killed it, sent it to the Abyss, went after it and brought it back to this plane. The troupe of Orcs followed behind her, plodding along at their excruciatingly slow pace. The sun was high in the sky, and they still had many leagues to cover until they reached En'Terrek. The Alkatryz city was free game- they housed Host or Allied, as long as neither attacked each other. Nao had asked Tomoe to meet here there to further discuss the action taken to recover the Princess and her Halfling.

Tomoe's thoughts strayed to the Princess. She had known of her a long time, since she was a small girl. Tomoe's unique parenting meant that she was no immortal, but aged at a tenth of the rate of humans. Shizuru was simply exquisite- she possessed the unreal perfection and beauty that was so uncommon of humans. Tomoe had scryed her endlessly before this mess, watching her day to day actions with interest that bordered on obsession. She couldn't help it. Tomoe _had_ to have Shizuru. Nao wanted only the Halfling- Tomoe could have hazarded a guess at the reason, but she was honestly not bothered with what the Dark Elf had in mind for little Natsuki.

_Natsuki_. The name made her blood boil. She unconsciously reached first to her lopsided hair- it had still not grown back on the side where he had cut it- and then to her chest, where the long jagged scar he had made rested above her heart. She could see him now- teal hair matted with blood, but his amber eyes set blazing on her as they lunged and parried, weaving a complex and deadly dance of blades. She had been defeated by him- though they were, she thought, the last left in Roedrenmon. _Natsuki_. Could he still be alive? Was he still how trying to foil her?

-_Eastwind Forest_-

Natsuki awoke to the smell of drying grass and dew. Her head felt heavy and strangely disconnected from the rest of her body. She touched her neck and immediately recoiled- it was painful. Looking around, she noticed she was on a bed of moss and grass, beneath a huge tree she could not identify by sight alone. A few paces away, Shizuru lay on a similar bed, sleeping soundly. Her face looked so peaceful and untroubled- childlike, almost. Natsuki had the sudden urge to touch it. She almost did, but as she reached out she caught sight of her hand, pawlike, claws barely noticeable as they were retracted. Thick fur, a few shades darker than her hair, covered her arms from the elbow down. It was shaggy and dirty. Natsuki got up quietly, wincing at the cracking twigs under her feet. She roamed around the forest a while, sometimes on all fours, sometimes standing. It felt marvelous to frolic around the forest with no care for danger. It was early morning, and the winter birds were beginning to emerge from the knotholes in which they slept. The perfect time to take a wash. They called out to Natsuki; wary of the odd presence they hadn't felt before. In reply, she cowered and spoke to them in the bastardized form of Earthentongue that she remembered and added to over the years. Natsuki had not forgotten the language of her people or the Plainsrunners, though she had trouble remembering more complex words. Earthentongue was a strange language, split into two distinct dialects- tame and feral. Tame was used when speaking to family, friends, other humanoids and superiors, and was complicated and speech-like. Feral Earthentongue was considered simple, but it was quite the contrary. It contained thousands of noises, body movements and facial expressions that could be used to speak to the members of the Animal Kingdom who had the ability to communicate. Birds were one of these.

Natsuki explained that she wished them no harm and continued to a small pool of river-water. It was fed by a small waterfall over a rock ledge on one side and let out in a bigger one, though less steep. Natsuki quickly stripped and jumped into the water, relishing the freezing clarity it brought. Everything was confusing- Nagi… the Wraythe thathad possessed Magthor, Shizuru… Since the war there had been no simplicity for Natsuki. But now, with no potion to hide her and no clothes to restrict her, thoughts flowed freely.

Images of Shizuru flashed from her memories, and though she wanted to, Natsuki did not suppress them. Seeing her for the first time in her bedchamber, hugging on top of the bell tower, the beautiful song she had sung, filled with such sadness… she was lonely, Natsuki realized, even surrounded by maids and nobles and men that clamoured for even a glance at her. Natsuki wanted to feel guilty. She killed Shizuru's father! The Wraythe would have eventually sucked all of his life force, that much was true, but he had still died at her gunpoint. It was odd. Natsuki told herself over and over again that she had killed Shizuru's father, but still no guilt. She had felt some initially, but all there was now was a faint sense of unease.

"Mind if I join you?" came a voice from the other side of the pool. Shizuru stood there, stripped to nothing but her undergarments. "Natsuki looks so content drifting here, I thought I'd attempt to reach the same state."

Natsuki turned red. She wasn't wearing anything. Her fur did not cover all of her body… she didn't want Shizuru to be exposed to her like that. "Uh…Ah, Shizuru, I-I'm not w-wearing anything!"

Shizuru smiled in a mischievous manner, bending down to test the water. "Of course. Do you expect me to bathe in my clothes? I did not suspect Natsuki did."

Natsuki was about to protest again when Shizuru dropped her undershift and pulled off her corset in one swift movement. Shizuru had thought about asking Natsuki to undo it, just to see the look on the poor girl's face, but had decided against it- she was probably still smarting and confused after last night.

Natsuki's eyes clamped shut faster than she could slit a throat and she turned around, blushing the colour of the red bricks that the furnaces of Windbloom were built from.

"Natsuki does not want to look at me?" Shizuru asked, her voice hurt. She knew she was teasing, but she could not resist. The Halfling needed some fun.

Natsuki stubbornly stayed turned around. "It would be a breach of your privacy."

"So Natsuki cares not for her own privacy?" Shizuru asked, looking at the girl's back. She drank in the lean muscles, the porcelain skin and the gleaming raven hair that reached to just below her shoulder blades. There were many scars, though they were faint and hardly noticeable against the whiteness of Natsuki's skin. Her body was subtly curved, not overly so, but she wasn't stick thin, like the fashion amongst young ladies of court of recent years. Shizuru thought it was so ugly, to starve oneself. Natsuki was thin, yes, but the difference was the in muscles that Shizuru saw under that ivory skin. Natsuki was by no means… what was the word that one of her suitors had used? Buff? Possibly, but the Halfling was imperfectly amazing.

Natsuki became conscious of Shizuru's eyes on her. She blushed further and sunk into the water, hiding herself. The pool was only waist-deep, so she sat on her knees.

"Natsuki, turn around. I wish to speak to you," Shizuru said, sinking under in a mimic of Natsuki, hoping that hiding her modesty would make Natsuki turn. "I am covered."

Slowly, the Halfling turned and let out a relived sigh. She felt a little… disappointed? Had she wanted Shizuru to continue teasing her? She shook the thought off. Since showing Shizuru that memory, Natsuki had been a little confused. Her father had taught her at the tender age of six summers how to share memories with people. He had told her that if there was ever a great battle and he was to perish, she should hold some memories for him. The problem was, she had forgotten the memories.

She had shown Shizuru a scene that still haunted her. She had looked up at Natsuki, seen his eyes stare lifelessly out at the sea of graves and bodies that had yet to be returned to the earth from whence they came. Back then she had been Natty. It stopped confusion between her and the great Halfling leader. He had looked at her tenderly, gripping her hand as if it were his lifeline. His face was haggard, and a head injury was bleeding somewhere, staining his hair an unholy shade of rust. She hadn't cried, just taken it stoically.

The other part of the memory, however, she'd kept from the Princess. Natsuki had turned to her hand led her off at a run, to the cover of the trees. They had waited for what seemed like an epoch. Leaves had crunched nearby. Natsuki had suddenly gone very still, his eyes wide with fear. He had held her then, she remembered, and spoken those last words.

"_Live for me, Natsuki."_

He had kissed her forehead, cementing her existence in Earth. There was a ripple of heat around, and before she could fathom what was going on, Natsuki had thrown himself over her with a cry and the whole world had gone up in flames. She felt wetness on her back and wondered if Natsuki was crying. The flames kept coming spreading out from a focal point near the last Halflings. Natsuki felt a terrible sensation of dulling, and then a thick cloud of smoke obscured her vision. Something crunched near her. She saw a pair of red eyes, gleaming with the reflection of the flames.

"Tsk, tsk… Natsuki. Hunting my kind to the end, eh?" He scooped her from beneath his corpse. He was blackened and charred, flesh crumbling. She, on the other hand, was unscathed. She looked at her hands in wonder. There was no fur, no baby claws just starting to sprout. Her teeth were flat. Her hearing was terrible and what little nose she had left could only smell smog. She was human.

No. That was a lie. She was a Halfling, by blood, by upbringing, by Lore. The red-eyed magician picked her up. She was surprisingly light in his arms. He smelled of thick incense and burning. "Hello, little one. What would your name be?" He asked mockingly. She coughed.

"Hurts…" she could get out, her throat dry and paining her, lungs filled with smog. He regarded her, obviously seeing her pain. Suddenly, it was gone, the air around her clear and free.

"I can't understand you." He said, cocking his head to the side. "Say that word again?"

Thinking it best not to disobey the man who could destroy an entire forest in one shot, she repeated herself. "Hurts…"

Hey smiled in triumph. "Ku..ga. That's what you said. Kuga. Not very girly, but at least you have a name." He smiled, though it was not the smile of a man who was fully sane.

"I am Barren. Wonder what a little human's doing amongst these savage beasts?" he mused. "He was probably hunting you. Bastard animal. Killed so many good men who were fighting in the name of justice. Tsk, Tsk. What am I to do with you, little Kuga?"

He slung her over his shoulder and walked through the wasteland that, from that day on, was known as Barren's Plain.

Ten years later, Natsuki looked at herself in horror. Claws sprouted from her fingers and sharp canines pushed thought her gums. The cramps in her stomach did nothing to help the immense pain. Sergay rushed into her chamber and clamped his hand over his mouth in terror. Someone screamed- then there was just pain and memories…

"Natsuki?"

"Wake up, Na-tsu-ki…"

Natsuki's eyes slowly drifted open, to meet a red pair that stared down at her in amusement. Shizuru sat by the side of the pool, hair damp, but thankfully clothed in a fine white shirt with a crème waistcoat and a tunic underneath both garments, reaching to mid-thigh. On her feet she wore a sturdy pair of traveling boots with little ivy leaves sewn into the leather. At her hip, she wore a belt with a small, simple dagger. She saw Natsuki's eyes on her and smiled before explaining.

"You honestly did not expect me to dress like a Princess on the road?" she laughed. "I may not be a trained assassin, but I know how to use a dagger. Where do you think I went when I skipped sewing lessons? I watched the street fighters and learned a few tricks."

Natsuki found that she was floating on the pool, her modesty covered by a blue cloth that she recognized as her spare cloak. Had Shizuru seen anything? She blushed and sat up hastily, holding the cloak to herself. "Where are my clothes?" she asked. It came out angrier than expected.

Shizuru didn't seem to notice. "Here," she pointed to a pile of clothes a few paces from her.

Natsuki grabbed them and slinked into the cover of the trees to change. When she walked back to Shizuru, she noticed the girl regarding her hands with confusion. She was feeling a little uncomfortable after her memory-dream thing, and so was in a bad mood. "You break a nail, Princess?" she asked, nearly smirking but feeling a little guilty.

Shizuru turned to look at her with surprise. "Natsuki should not sneak up on me like that."

"Shizuru should not refer to Natsuki in the third person," she retorted, a little angry at the girl's antics. She had still not forgiven Shizuru for her slander of Roedrenmon. She ran her right hand through her hair and winced as it tangled. She'd have to steal a hairbrush.

"Does Natsuki want me to brush her hair?" Shizuru's voice came from behind her. Without realizing it, she had been walking away. Was this what she did to all of her problems? Run away and try and forget them?

"No."

"But it's tangled!"

"So? Shizuru, we have to get out of the Allied Lands. There's probably search parties all over the place."

Shizuru pouted but resigned to the assassin. Natsuki had not asked how she obtained the clothes of the dagger, so she had not felt inclined to tell. Jumping up from the rock, she grabbed the pack containing the rest of their gear and jogged along after the girl, who was taking a swig of potion.

"Does Natsuki still have to take it? It really doesn't make us less noticeable…" Shizuru asked as she reached Natsuki's side.

"Yes, I do."

The Princess sighed and shrugged, oblivious to the reason for Natsuki's strange mood. She felt guilty for some reason… she had woken up that morning on a bed a soft grass next to Natsuki. The girl must have woken up and done that for her. Shizuru could only remember Natsuki coming to her rescue, Nagi sending her into an unconscious state and a group of men surrounding her. She must have blacked out, but she remembered shouts and blood. Natsuki must have woken and dealt with them.

-_En'Terrek, Arena City of the Alkatryz_-

Eni's pointed ears perked up at the sound of hoofbeats along the west road. Usually she wouldn't be around here, since her house was nearer the south road, but she had been taking advantage of the cooler weather and taking a stroll around the city. The hoofbeats got louder, so she quickly melded back into the shadow of a tall stately house by the side of the road. The passing troupe was unlike anything she had ever seen, and Eni had seen a lot for an average Alkatryz of sixteen summers. The leader rode tall and proud, green eyes darting from side to side. Her darkened skin contrasted her shaggy red hair that curled around her face. At her back was the finest bow Eni had ever laid eyes upon and a quiver stocked full of arrows bearing the sigil of the Dark Elves. Behind her rode four other elves, all female, all with the air of someone who did not have and trouble marching into a city of those who distrusted them somewhat.

As they drew nearer to Eni's hiding spot, the leader glanced directly in her way. Eni felt a rough tugging at the back of her shirt and before she knew it a powerful animal took her by the scruff of her neck and threw her out before the troupe.

The leader smirked as her pet returned to her. It was a Spindra, standing taller than both the horse and rider.

"What have you dredged up, Julia?" the Captain asked, smirking down at Eni. "A little street rat, perhaps? A pre-dinner snack?"

Eni stood up and dusted her simple attire off. By no means was she a street rat! She was a member of the Second Circle, a group of families with good political standing in the city, second only to the First Circle. The lavish insignia on the chest of her shirt proved this. Though the very sight of this Dark Elf made her quiver, Eni stood tall and strong, like the fledgling fighter she truly was. "I am Eni, of South-West Second Night," she stated, hoping the Captain knew of the social structure of the city. She peered down at the insignia on her shirt to confirm this.

"How kind, they sent us a guide," She smirked. "Take us to the Host Borough, girl. Any tricks and you're dead before you can turn around."

Eni nodded and began running through the hot stone streets. She knew the Host borough- her friend Nel of Third South-East lived next to it. He had expressed disdain for the area, however- it was not a slightly place, to say the least.

She wove through the streets, all the time conscious of the trotting Dark Elves. When she did eventually reach the Host Borough, the Alkatryz was panting a little. The Dark Elf Captain gave her a snide look and trotted off somewhere. Eni stood there, wishing she had the map she had given to Tate. It had a list of all the ruling bodies of the major races on it. She could have found the name of the Dark Elf.

"Eni'Rok?" came a familiar childish voice behind her. Eni idly wondered if Nel's voice would ever break, as he neared sixteen summers. She turned around.

"Nel, how many times have I told you- it's just Eni, okay? Rok is so… so what I'd call Ony or Da." Eni grimaced at the shouting she got from her instructor or father when she failed to address them with the correct honorific in public.

He was about to object when there came a might crash from inside the Host Borough. Eni and Nel both ran to inspect the commotion.

"I'm sorry! They're hard to catch, you _know_ how hard Halflings are!" The sound of a bone crunching caused Nel to whimper beside Eni. He was always squeamish. Eni crept around to get a better view of the scene. The Dark Elf Captain had another woman's fist clenched in her hand- bones jutted out of some of the fingers. Eni did wince. She did know of this woman- she was Tomoe, Host Champion.

"Nao, please… I promise to do better!" she whimpered as the more cracking sent her almost crying. Nao (as Eni now knew the Elf was called) released her hand and stepped back into the shadow of Julia, the massive Spindra. Two other Spindræ stood behind Tomoe, their hundreds of beady eyes glistening menacingly along with their pincers moving erratically. Their drool seemed to erode the packed earth below.

Eni almost laughed. The Host Champion looked weak and fragile next to Nao- the Dark Elf could easily usurp her throne of power over the Host Tribes. Nao, however, did not seek public glory- Tomoe was her front man and puppet, and everything she did made life better for the Dark Elves.

"Fine," Nao drawled. "Just get me the Halfling- I want her alive. The pleasure of finally annihilating that wretched race is _all mine_, understood? Take that human girl if you want-" Tomoe… blushed? Eni could not belie her eyes. She lusted after the Princess? "-For I know you want her, but leave _Natsuki_ to me. I will ensure he gets his judgment."

Eni frowned. His? The Natsuki she knew of was female- the young Halfling had come with her father and stayed at Eni's Dwelling on Ambassadorial business. She of course had heard of the Halfling Leader Natsuki- who hadn't? But she had assumed her was dead. Interesting.

"The Allied King is dead. For years the more foolish of us has sought to for a treaty with them, but I disagree. They are weak- they do not allow women to take the throne- and we should strike as soon as possible. Once we have the Halfling, we can safely take the Allies with little resistance. First humans, in their disarray, and from Windbloom, the rest of the Allied Lands. Then, perhaps, here? Who knows…?" Nao finished and Eni's alarms were blaring. The Host was going to take En'Terrek? She would not allow it. She needed to find the Halfling and Princess and alert them of the danger they faced, for Nao and Tomoe were by no means enemies to be underestimated.

Nao walked off towards the grandest of the Host Stayhouses, leading her mount. Tomoe, left behind, walked slowly back to her troupe of Orcs, flanked by the two Spindræ, and nursed her shattered hand. She concentrated on it, and it began to glow with soft blue light. The bones receded and the hand returned to normal shape, but the skin was still punctured and oozing. She barked at one of the Orcs to bring salve and bandages.

Eni receded back to where Nel watched the scene from further away. "I have to warn the Halfling and Princess. Did you hear the plans?"

"Aye," he said, looking a little pale. "I'll come with you!"

Eni shook her head. "No, Nel. You're not sixteen summers yet, you can't travel without your instructor. And besides, by myself I can make good time. I know where I'm going. You saw my maps."

"I could read them!" he protested.

"You can't- I gave them to Tate back a long way ago, and the one I had left is too rotted to read now."

Nel looked at her pleadingly. He was going to badger her into submission. Eni sighed and resigned herself.

"We catch the next ship to Orner."

0-0-0-0-0

AN: Um, lots of stuff here. Lots of explaining, lots of… stuff. Some ShizNat, which I promise, WILL develop. It will just take a while. Some Nao, some Tomoe. And Eni. I love her. I'm writing about her at the moment, check my FictionPress (I gt by the same username) in a while for the story. It's not up just yet… Sorry if you don't like OC. I could have used Haruka and Yukino, but I may have other plans for them… I think. Dunno.

ALKATRYZ NOBILITY SYSTEM

4 quarters to the city- North-West, North-East, South-West, South-East.

1 first circle family per quarter, e.g.: "I am Ryn of North-East First."

2 second circle per quarter- one Day, one Night. "I am Eni, of South-West Second Night." Shortened to "South-West Night."

4 Third circle families per quarter- "I am Nel, of South-East Third Autumn." Though in the US you call it Fall. Named for each season. Shortened to "South-East Autumn."

1st circle is the most important- practically the ruling council.

2nd circle and also important, 2 reps on council per house.

3rd circle have 1 rep per quarter, whoever is in highest favour that year. Not very important.

The rest of the citizens are commoners. They are not peasants or slaves or anything, they're just not nobles.

You can be born into a house or enter one by winning a duel with a member of the house. That member has to leave, but can try to get into another house. En'Terrek is a very fighty place. The main feature is the central Arena built on top of an oasis.

Sorry for that long explanation, just thought you might want it. BTW, the Alkatryz are all mine. Yes, their name is like the prison. But not intentionally. I didn't actually know that until my sis (Beta-kinda) told me. Muhahaha! And yes, they do mostly have 3-letter names.

Reviews? Any suggestions? You want more action, more fluff, more darkness, more Eni and Nel? Tell me, I'll take it into consideration. Bear in mind I can't answer all reviews- we're hotel-hopping in the states and some don't have internet. I'm in Annapolis ATM, going to the Naval Academy tomorrow! Really exiting since I'm a Cadet at my school CCF and I love sailing.

~Emiri


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Forbidden and Forgotten

The sun was high in the sky as Natsuki and Shizuru neared the border. In Windbloom, the cool sea breeze would be blowing into the city and Shizuru would be standing on her balcony, breathing the last days of Hallows in, before the first snows of Yule. She shook her head sadly and looked at the approaching scenery. To the right on the horizon, the black outline of Orner, amid a sea of reddish sand that blew up little dust devils. Though still on Allied turf, the lush grasses were becoming more packed and weedy.

The gravitas of the situation finally dawned on Shizuru. Now, leaving their homeland for the first time, traveling with a wanted criminal, she felt… world-weary. Was this what Natsuki felt all the time? The sense that everything was just too much? She shivered. Shizuru did not want her eyes to ever look dead, like she had seen Natsuki's when she was in the pool, lost in a memory.

She snuck a look at the assassin. It was hotter out than anywhere near Windbloom, where she had probably lived for the last 8 or nine years, and the weather in Roedrenmon was cool as well, as it was situated on the Tor Delta- though the river Tor dried up long ago, in the war of Barren's Plain. Natsuki was sweating slightly under her layer of leather armour, but she stoically ignored it and continued striding on. She had explained last night, when they had camped by the edge of Eastwind Forest, that horses were more of a burden on Barren's Plain- they needed heavy food and water, and had small hoofs that sunk easily in the sand. The Halfling had elaborated that they meant to take a landship from Orner, via En'terrek, to hopefully somewhere near Roedrenmon. Though it would be much quicker to just go straight to the Halfling city, most sandships went via the big cities to restock… and it was a long, hard journey. Though they had originally planned to avoid Orner at all costs, Natsuki had finally conceded that it was the place where they were most likely to find passage.

However, Shizuru hadn't brought the subject up of _why_ they were going to Roedrenmon- she feared it would be taken badly or sound too much like the time she had referred to the place as a swampy graveyard, to Natsuki's fury. She placated herself with thinking that wherever and why ever they were going, she would be away from her royal responsibility… to create an heir… and she would be with Natsuki. The thought made her shiver a little. Why was she suddenly affected so? Sure, she mercilessly teased the girl, but why was she suddenly weighing all her actions in front of the Halfling, to cast her in the most appealing light?

Full of puzzlement, she didn't notice that Natsuki had vanished from beside her. She looked around in confusion, and found the girl lying facedown in the grass behind her. Shizuru immediately brimmed with worry and ran over to her. Natsuki groaned slightly and rolled over. For the first time, Shizuru could see that there were huge black rings under her eyes, which were bloodshot and dry. Her skin was slightly burned and peeling in places, and there were several cuts on her forehead. Her normal, smooth face seemed to dissolve, leaving a burned husk of a girl.

"Natsuki! What on earth-" Shizuru exclaimed, alarmed at the sudden transformation. "What did you do?"

Natsuki moaned and accidentally swallowed some earth. She coughed and rolled over.

"I was using a Façade."

Shizuru fumed. Façades were spells that allowed the user to appear any way they wanted to the eyes of the world. Natsuki had obviously been using one to hide the signs of weariness from her traveling companion.

"When was the last time you slept?" Shizuru demanded, now very annoyed as well. Natsuki shifted uncomfortably and mumbled something incohesive. Shizuru took on a more disciplinary tone, the one she used for Mashiro when the girl got too naughty. "Natsuki, when did you last sleep?"

"I had a nap the morning before I went to bathe… I just have to stay up and take watch, Shizuru, else who knows what could get us."

"And Natsuki does not think me able enough to take watch?" Shizuru's fists clenched. Did Natsuki really think her that useless? That much of a hindrance?

"N- Shizuru, look… I got you into this whole mess, and the least I can do is protect you…"

Natsuki's face was filled with such sincerity that Shizuru almost smiled. _Almost_.

_I can protect you too, my Natsuki…_

Shizuru darted around. The voice seemed to have come not from the left or the right, but from _within_ her. It was chilling and made her want to shiver, like Nagi. Her wish was his command. She suddenly felt very self-conscious- what had he done to her?

_My_ Natsuki?

She shook it off as the work of higher powers. Sure, Natsuki was nice enough, but the Halfling had killed her father and was constantly stuck in the past. And her mood swings… like now; she had gone from fuming and scowling to weak and embarrassed. Shizuru sighed and offered the girl a hand up. She took it and Shizuru immediately felt a bolt of magic- it was difficult to describe, but her first thought was of the colour blue- and realized that this was Natsuki's reserve magic, which she had been planning to use to maintain the Façade, but could not after collapsing. Natsuki gasped a little, but it turned into a groan as she got to her feet and dusted her breeches off.

"You need to rest." It was a statement, not a suggestion. Natsuki nodded almost imperceptibly and yawned, looking awfully cute. Shizuru gave herself a mental shake and draped the assassin's hands over her shoulders and then hitched her up into a piggyback. She was lighter than Shizuru had expected, but she chalked it up to being a Halfling. The potion was still at work, but now Shizuru could feel Natsuki's invisible ears brushing against her neck. It was oddly comforting. The princess was not strong or disciplined like Natsuki, but she had many years of practice from carrying Mashiro around.

She gently began to walk back in the direction of the forest, for some cover to camp. Natsuki snored on her shoulder and she turned her head to look at the girl, forgetting she was so close- Shizuru's lips grazed the side of Natsuki's face.

Pulling away quickly Shizuru stifled the blush on her cheeks. She had not forgotten her thoughts about Natsuki a few nights ago, before the attack of Hich. This newfound compassion for Natsuki only pulled her further into the truth she was most unwilling to accept: that she liked the girl more than a traveling companion, more than a friend. Shizuru shivered and bit back a frustrated sigh, something she allowed herself to do very rarely, but this was not the time for weaknesses, not now when she was either an outlaw or breeding fodder.

They reached the treeline just before mid-afternoon, which left Shizuru a long time to set up camp. She knew they had lost some ground, but Natsuki's weariness was more important. She was, of course, for all of Shizuru's bravado and self-assurance, cultivated through royal upbringing, the principal protector.

This seeded an idea in Shizuru's head. She groped around in an unpracticed manner for the hilt of her dagger. Though she was indeed not a novice at the use of a blade, the way that street fighters wielded their weapons was sloppy and meant to either disarm an enemy or cut a purse string. She pulled it out and inspected the dull metal- for it had not been sharpened or polished in many years. The weight seemed wrong in her hand- the hilt too restricting and the whole weapon not long enough. Shizuru reasoned that she may have been more proficient with perhaps a spear or a polearm, but she did not have the resources to acquire one for herself at this time. She gave a few swiped and jabs with the dagger, unimpressed at how much of a toy it looked in her hand compared to the lethal weapon it became in Natsuki's. She looked down at the sleeping Halfling, whose now-visible ears were twitching as her tail brushed lazily from side to side in time with her deep, rhythmic breaths. Shizuru marveled at the sight- Natsuki was undoubtedly beautiful. Even haggard, sleeping and covered in cuts and bruises, she was more that Shizuru had even known, and that was a lot for a human. Aristocracy in Windbloom typically bred the finest and most distinguished men and women, so Shizuru's eye was no stranger to beauty, but Natsuki was so different. Her appeal was perhaps not in clean-cut looks, but the sparkle of her passionate emerald eyes and the almost feral expressions that crossed her creamy face- Shizuru idly wondered how it was so pale if she had spent much time outside as a child, but soon forgot her questions and observations. She was content to sit and stare.

-_Aboard the Princess, Somewhere near Orner_-

Mai quivered as the wrath of Chief Shaman Battle-Commander Tomoe, Fearless Champion of the Host, bombarded her from all directions. She was a priestess, yes; the very embodiment of the Fire God Kagu, but Tomoe's pure rage and pain flowed through her like the hammer of the mightiest God ever known. She was holding her own, holding Takumi's small and fragile hand as if it was her link to life itself.

The grasp of her senses was suddenly relinquished and Mai fell onto the desk, breathing hard as though she had been holding her breath for several minutes. Chie and Tate rushed to where she lay and anxiously checked her over, making sure se was okay.

"Mai?" Chie asked, rolling the priestess's form to face the sky. She did not need any more trouble, especially now, when Natsuki and Princess Shizuru were approaching fast. They needed to be the most normal vessel there, the vessel that the two would take towards their destination.

Which, they did not yet know, would be their doom.

"I'm okay," came the reply, slightly breathless. Mai picked herself up and dusted off her robes. Though they were hemmed just below her knees for the sake of mobility, they still bore the orange and red fiery patterns of her practice, interlaced with thread made from the hairs of a magma theyn, harpy-like creatures that lived in volcanoes and far below the earth's crust. She smiled at Tate and Chie and then at Takumi and Mikoto. Aoi was down below, having taken charge of clearing up the sleeping quarters to make herself useful.

"Then, where will we go now, Chie?" Tate returned to their mission. "They are not likely to come to Orner- there are probably posters attached to even the side of our ship with their names on."

Chie pondered that a minute. "Mai has been getting increased signals from them for a while. We could converge on their position."

"Too risky," Tate shook his shaggy blonde hair. "They'd suspect something."

"Not if we had cargo bound for, say, an Inn or village only a little way into the forest." Takumi pointed out.

Tate again shook his head. "All trade goods go via Orner, or if they are to go to the elves or goblins, the overground area of Cavern One."

They thought in silence for several minutes, each assessing many different possibilities. It was Mikoto who spoke up.

"Double bluff." She said, simply, smiling her childish smile.

Chie turned to her with interest. "Double Bluff?"

Mikoto looked at the eyes on her, and realized they wanted further explanation. "We should capture them. Like the poster says."

"That defeats the point of gaining their trust long enough to get them to wherever Tomoe wants them. We cannot keep the Halfling for long- she is intelligent and an excellent fighter."

"We needn't!" Mikoto shouted indignantly, angry that Tate had interrupted her very good idea. "Capture them. _But_," she turned to give Tate a glare. "_But_, we grow to like them. Trust them. They will appeal to us with their own sincerity when captured. So, we have a change of heart. Like I do on a bad day when I eat Mai's food." Mai smiled at the compliment. "We then tell them we'll go wherever they're headed. And give them to the scary woman."

They all stood, stunned at the cleverness of it.

Mai brought them back to harsh reality. "What think you, Tomoe?" she tentatively asked the pendant that was her link to her. Mai went stiff and slightly transparent.

"I like it. Proceed. But be quick, fools. Else you might find yourself in the middle of the battlefield, against both sides, when the time comes."

Mai gasped once again as colour returned to her face. She nearly crumpled, but kept herself strong, only stumbling. She hated this link with Tomoe, hated what they were doing. It didn't sit right in her stomach, all this deception. But she knew the selfishness of the world- she wanted the same as Chie, protection for Mikoto and Takumi. They were her world, even beyond her God. She could not bring herself to totally give up everything she had to ascend to the plane of existence in which Kagu resided, as she had watched many others do before her. She loved Takumi too much, and Mikoto was one of her closest friends. She looked to the sky and saw the Red Star, the far-away portal to the Plane of Divinity. On the other side of the moon, the Blue Star, the portal to the Plane of Suspension. Her studies had not delved very far into this Plane, better understood by Druids. It was where all things were held and weighed equally, with and against each other. It was akin to the Light's idea of purgatory, but only in parts. Really, it was a place that housed everyone, good or evil, dead or alive- where dead souls were said to have gone. Mai thought of Takumi, how his soul had been so near to the Blue Star when they had reached it. It brought the familiar ache to the forefront of her mind, unbidden, and she accepted it stoically. She had Takumi now, though he was weak and frail, and that was enough.

"Sister," came the soft voice beside her. Takumi stared up at her, his eyes filled with love. "Do not despair. When this all ends, as all things end, know that I will be with you."

He offered his hand and she took it, holding it against her heart.

"I love you, Takumi." She looked at him, her little brother, so old now! Tears nearly found their way to her eyes, but she bit them back. She had to be strong where Takumi was not.

"Cry, sister. For strength comes at the price of emotion. That can't happen to you." He hugged her tight. "I am strong in my own ways," he whispered filling Mai with such pride. "I will never leave you."

"And I, you,"

All was hushed aboard the _Princess_ that night, not even Tate snored. Mai lay in her hammock, thinking on Takumi's words. She stared at a knot in the ceiling, and as she examined it, fell slowly into a fitful slumber, dreaming of nothing but her friends. Her dear friends.

A/N: There we are. It's a wee bit shorter than the past couple, but I felt it should end here. Just to clarify, Mai loves Takumi LIKE A BROTHER. And vice versa. So, Shizuru's beginning to figure out her feelings. Will she act on them? Will the crew of the princess go on with Tomoe's dastardly schemes, or sacrifice their desires? Will Eni be able to warn Shizuru and Natsuki in time?

Find out in the next installment of _At the Point of Her Dagger_.

~Emiri


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Fantasies and Fire-magic

It was late the next day when Natsuki finally woke up, nestled in a blanket but the shady edge of the forest. Her muscles ached and protested when she sat up, but the Halfling ignored it. Shizuru sat with her back to her, feeding small pieces of wood into the fire, upon which, suspended by a crude frame, was a pot of smoking something. The scent wafted up Natsuki's hyper-sensitive nostrils and she could think of nothing else. Silently walking up to behind Shizuru, a devious thought entered her head. Though Natsuki would not usually act on such childish ideas, she reminded herself that she had been set free from that life. The life of an assassin.

"Boo!" she shouted, putting her hands on Shizuru's shoulders. The princess didn't move a muscle.

"Natsuki is oddly loud of foot for an assassin," she remarked, tossing another branch onto the fire. Natsuki cursed under her breath and sat beside her, stifling a groan as her weary limbs objected vehemently. "Am I to assume that Natsuki's stiffness means that she is not fit to resume traveling?"

_Doesn't miss a beat, that one… I find it slightly creepy._

"No. I am fine, Shizuru. We have lost too much time as it is." Natsuki replied, peering into the pot of broth. Her stomach gurgled and she blushed, embarrassed. She reached a hand into the pot to try the broth, but it was swatted away by Shizuru.

"I have no idea where that hand has been- Natsuki does not want to poison our food, does she?"

Natsuki grunted and sat cross-legged on the hard ground, impatient as a five-summer child. "Hurry up, then. I'm hungry."

The tawny-haired princess merely chuckled quietly and picked up the ladle, stirring the broth around a couple of times, then counter-clockwise. Her hand tingled uncomfortably where she had touch Natsuki, so much so that she could hardly concentrate on the task at hand. Her head ached like a man who had bought out a tavern the night before and her mouth was dry. She had kept vigil for a whole night and a day, and was not as hardened to the road as Natsuki was. She was also magic-less, unable to mask her weariness.

"Natsuki?" she ventured, wanting to start conversation. The rumblings and rustlings of the forest at night had been her sole companions aside from the soft growling snores Natsuki made in her sleep these past days, and she needed the reassurance of human contact.

"What?" the girl snapped, eyes darting hungrily from the broth to the fox she knew was spying on them from behind a large bush to the left. She could smell it on top of the filth and broth- it stank of congealed blood and raw meat. However, Natsuki's feral powers examined the fox and found it to be nothing more sinister than curious, if not a very hungry. It would not risk entering the clearing uninvited, sensing Natsuki's powers. She felt an overwhelming rush of kindness, not something she much cared for. "Shizuru, how much broth did you make?"

Shizuru, about to voice her conversation-starter, stopped and considered. She anticipated entering Orner the next day, and so had cooked most of what they had left. "Enough."

"For me and you? Or more?"

"More."

Natsuki scratched her ear. "Then I have a friend we should feed."

Shizuru, taken aback, looked around, but saw only foliage. She almost laughed as she considered that Natsuki could talk to plants, but dismissed the idea. She admired Natsuki's uncharacteristic kindness. "Invite them here, them."

Natsuki's face contorted for a time, as though she were trying very hard to remember something. Several moments passed with just the cracking of the fire, then Natsuki relaxed and nimbly rolled onto all fours, tail swishing low, ears limp. She loudly turned towards the treeline, making strange, yipping noises while cowering. Shizuru did not know much about animals, but the posture was obviously meant to provoke a sense of security. Then it struck her that the 'friend' Natsuki had spoken of might be an animal. She felt a sense of disappointment that Natsuki could communicate and relate to it in a way she and Natsuki never could, but pushed it aside, brushing it under the already-bulging carpet of her feelings. They could not- would not- hinder Natsuki's progress towards Roedrenmon.

From the bushes came a young fox, coat saturated with mud and probably mites. It would have been a magnificent creature, Shizuru mused, as it was a Uren Fox, who were to ordinary foxes as wolves were to dogs: bigger, faster, stronger and much more intelligent. The coat of flaming reds and oranges was brown with muck now, though. She wondered… there was a legend that Uren foxed could take human form to lure chickens from their pens and young girls from their homes. It was magic, Shizuru knew, and Shizuru didn't like magic. It made everything tenfold as complicated as it should be. And the destructive powers… look at Barren. He destroyed a whole land, all because of his magic.

Natsuki and the Uren began a complex dance of twitches and growls, eyes locked on each other. Shizuru noticed now amazing Natsuki seemed when she was doing it… so in her element. How long had she been denied this? Shizuru could almost smell her elation. Or perhaps it was the dirt they were both caked in, she couldn't tell.

After a while, Natsuki padded back over to the fire, where the broth was steaming. Having forgotten totally about it, Shizuru gasped and grabbed the pot from above the fire. She set it down on the grass where it sizzled angrily.

"Shizuru! Are your hands okay?" Natsuki's shouted, back in Allian, shared language of the Allied lands. Her Uren friend was too busy licking his paw to notice.

"What?" Shizuru said, confused by Natsuki's perturbed expression. "What's wrong?"

"You just picked up a scalding pot of broth with your bare hands! Are you burnt?"

Shizuru looked at her hands. They were red raw from the work she had been doing over the last week, yes, but not burnt. "No," she said, suddenly very uneasy.

A new voice spoke up. "Honestly, you all are so stupid. It's magic. Fire magic. How else do you think those pyromaniacs don't blow themselves up every time they cast a spell?" Shizuru wildly looked around, but Natsuki remained clam. By her side, a young man of outstanding beauty, with tousled red hair that glowed in the firelight and a strong, chiseled body. He looked slightly underfed, though, and his yellow eyes betrayed his hunger, flitting from the pot to Shizuru.

Natsuki spoke. "Shizuru, this is Coi. He's joining us for dinner."

The only thing Shizuru could muster was a joke. "Coi is quite unimaginative." Indeed, it was Old Allian for fox. Shizuru had studied the language as a child.

Coi shrugged. "It gets me by." He then smiled. "Not to seem rude, but the last meal I had didn't sit steaming, unmoving on the floor for me to devour. That was four days ago."

"Oh, yes…" Shizuru tentatively touched the pot again. No heat. No burns. She knew it was hot, but could not register the heat. She picked it up and took two crude bowls from their pack. "I'm sorry, we only packed vessels for two."

The Uren snickered. "I've eaten a lot worse than out of a cooking pot, Princess."

Shizuru narrowed her eyes. He knew she was the princess. "You know me?"

"Know _of_ you," He corrected, staring at the pot. "Word travels at speed in the forest. We knew you were in here before you did."

Deciding that she'd excuse Coi's rudeness, Shizuru nodded and passed the food out silently, head suddenly very heavy with thoughts. Magic… she didn't want it. Especially fire magic. It was too destructive, too ferocious and uncontrollable. She mused on this development as they sat eating. Coi and Natsuki grunted and growled at each other, but smiles betrayed their newfound friendship. Jealousy was an emotion Shizuru could not afford to feel, especially owing to this new power. Had it always been there? Had she just not had reason to notice it? She strained her mind back to incidents in her childhood- she could find none…

"Ne, Shizuru?" Her name snapped the princess from her reverie.

"What?" She asked rather abruptly, having not been listening to the conversation. Not that the human girl _could_ decipher sniffles and grunts. Coi and Natsuki turned to her.

"You were spaced out for, like, ever." Said Natsuki. Her voice had lost the sophisticated edge and accent from years of cultivation in the aristocracy of Windbloom, and Shizuru found she preferred the lax and slightly drawling accent she had returned to. And 'like, ever' was not something she'd peg the assassin to say. It was kind of cute.

"Sorry," Shizuru said, deciding to be honest. "Coi, are you sure it's magic?"

The Uren nodded vigorously while drinking the dregs of the pot of broth. "Animals sense magical disturbances better than humans. They're actually on par with the Elves with that. That's why the ecosystem was so thrown after that fool Barren blasted what was once the Mid'Realm."

Shizuru's last ray of hope petered out. "How bad is it?"

Coi scratched his neck with his foot, an impressive act of contortionism. "What do you mean?"

"How strong is the magic?"

Coi glanced at Natsuki, unease painted across his features. "Incredibly so. I've felt nothing stronger since…"

"Since Barren." Natsuki's voice shook. She didn't want to accept that Shizuru had the same power as the man who had destroyed her world- or what had been left of it after Tomoe had desecrated it.

Shizuru bit back a scream.

-_On board the Princess, two leagues from Orner, inside the Allied Border_-

"Last time I was here, it was smuggling." Chie remarked, pushing her hair behind her ears. "Good times, eh?"

Tate nodded, glancing back to Mai. His eyes fell upon the low-cut neckline of her robe and he stood staring for many moments before regaining his composure and turning back to Where Chie was lazily slumped over the helm, watching the sun set over the Sea of Rogues. Everything was culminating, Tate knew. They were facing the choice sooner rather than later: to give in to selfish but sensible wishes, or to help the Princess. When the time came, Tate had been sure which path he would choose. Ever the coward, Chie would mock him, ruffling his magically blonde hair. Everyone aboard the _Princess_ felt like one at the moment, and the mood was strained. They neared the Princess, and soon they would have to set their plan in motion. But soon, it would all be over, Tate thought. Over forever, and he and Mai could settle somewhere nice, maybe up in the Host Lands, near the river.

Chie was also fantasizing, dreaming of Aoi regaining her memory and bringing Chie home to her family, in a nice spacious cottage in the green valleys of the Allies. She imagined the smile on their faces as they greeted her warmly. The son they never had, maybe. Or they marveled at her race, perhaps. She would bring Aoi into a tight embrace without worrying about their gender or racial differences. She would sweep her off her feet and carry her down the aisle, where family would be crying and fanfares would be playing…

"Don't get… ahead of yourself, Captain," Takumi stood next to her, looking worse than he had in years. His brownish hair was matted and greasy, his eyes ringed with black. His breathing was irregular and he seemed twenty summers older. This was the harsh reality that Chie knew they faced, and the reason they were cowards.

"You're perceptive as ever, Takumi." She said dryly. What was she to do if she couldn't dream? What was this all worth, in the end, if she couldn't achieve happiness?

"Perhaps it's getting what you planned… what you wanted. But perhaps, Chie it's following your heart… not your head or your conscience, or whatever… Tomoe says. Could you… live with the guilt?"

"Could I live with the guilt of letting Aoi die if I disobeyed Tomoe?"

Takumi chuckled, an unhealthy, gurgling noise. "Whatever you say… Captain." And he slowly ambled off, back to his bunk, for some much-needed rest. Chie turned the ship to port slightly and mumbled some curses in Earthentongue. Not that she used it much any more, or that she'd get to in the near future.

"I heard that," Tate said, in Allian, then repeated it in Earthentongue. Chie smiled weakly. It was now that Tate was so much more than a shipmate. He was her Half-Brother, her dearest, most trusted friend. She might live another hundred years, and could not imagine them without Tate by her side. Or Aoi, or Mai and Mikoto and Takumi.

"Thank you," She said, allowing herself some weakness. "Táe'shi."

"It's okay," Tate smiled. "Máe'shi."

-_Barren's Plain, twelve leagues north of Orner_-

Nel huffed and puffed his way over the next dune, hands nearly slipping off the boom of his sand-skimmer, a smaller and very fast version of a sandship. It took a lot of mana to maintain the speed, and frankly, Nel was no mage. Eni sailed before him, purple eyes ablaze. She loved this, he knew, this freedom. Being born different wasn't easy. But out here, nobody cared.

He concentrated on pouring all of his mana through the wooden boom and into the reserve of it in a small holding-tank made of Manadium that was just under the thin hull, between the two back wheels. The strong desert winds were doing the job just fine, but it was the mana that kept the little skimmer afloat, only about a foot above the sand. The higher you got, the more power you wasted.

Eni, on the other hand, did not worry about wasting her power- she had practically _too_ much, and using it gave her a thrill like nothing else. She looped and soared over the sand, so free once more, like before the war. Her mind, however, was weighed with thoughts of Tomoe, Nao, and the Princess they were after. It was, of course, why she was doing this.

Later that day, as the night air was just beginning to chill and the sun had dropped below the horizon, Eni and Nel reached Orner. Nel was utterly exhausted, with good reason, but Eni was still jumping around. They had to keep going- those sent to apprehend the Princess would surely not waste time. Eni caved to Nel's moans and tried to rent a room in an inn.

As she entered, the small of wood smoke and ale hit her nostrils like a battering ram. Nel almost blanched, but kept himself together. The sign outside had proclaimed that Orner Shorehouse had meals and lodge at reasonable prices. The patrons, mostly human men in their middle years, leered at them from behind tankards of ale as they walked towards the bar, where the Innkeeper was calculating something on a worn abacus with a look of utter concentration on his hairless face. Fully aware of how odd two young Alkatryz looked amongst the other patrons, Eni hastened, Nel pressed close behind her.

"Good eve," she said, her Allian strained and heavily accented. "We would need beds for one night."

The Innkeeper looked at them. His beady eyes started at their tanned faces, widened at their pointed ears and bulged at the belt of weapons that both carried. Eni possessively fingered her bag of coins. After several ages, he spoke. "Two Gold, since you an yer lad look like young'uns ta me," he held out a hand.

Eni obliged and fished twenty-four Kitl from her bag. She had made sure she knew the exchange rate before she got here. The man regarded the black coins suspiciously, and then peered through the hole in the middle of one of them. "Fancy elf coins," he muttered, but counted them out and slipped them into his apron anyway. "Room twelve,"

Eni and Nel walked upstairs, not bothering to change before collapsing into separate beds. The sheets were itchy and slightly damp, but Eni did not care. There were more important things to think about- like saving the Princess.

-_Eastwind Forest_-

"Fire magic is unpredictable. Someone might have the potential all their life, but never get the magic at all," Coi explained, sitting by the crackling fire.

"Why?" Shizuru asked, eyes wide like a small child at a pastry shop for the first time. Once she'd gotten over the shock, uneasiness had settled in. She wanted to know how to control this magic, if she could not get rid of it.

Coi paused a moment. "Fire…" he said "Is ferocious. It's life and heat and destruction. You can't use it for healing or anything other than hurting. Thus, it needs a life-threatening situation. It need the strong will to save or protect someone, or the moment before a killing blow.

"Elemental magic rubs off on the wielder. Water makes people empathic, serene and good at taking care of people, but also makes them distant and distracted. Earth creates rock-solid, stoic people, trustworthy and reliable, but a little slow and obstinate. Wind causes hyperactivity, breeziness and quick-wittedness, and distraction."

Coi's eyes slid from Shizuru's red ones and looked down at the ground as he spoke again. "Fire mages can become powerful, excellent leaders, but irrational and uncontrollable. Fire is the most dangerous magic, and instills madness into wielders. Like Barren."

"I'm going to go insane, then?" Shizuru's hands shook as she swallowed. Why this, why now? Why couldn't she just be a normal human, just live a normal life in a small cottage somewhere?

"No!" Coi exclaimed, worry in his eyes. "Well, not if you don't let yourself. It takes a lot of self-discipline. It doesn't help that mental instability often runs in families."

"My father was perfectly sound of mind!" Shizuru shot back- Coi would not insult her dead father, whom he knew nothing of. He was just a fox posing as a boy, of course.

"I think we're talking about different fathers, then."

Shizuru narrowed her eyes. "Blasphemy. I am my father's daughter, heir to the throne of Windbloom!"

"Heir on your mother's side only."

"My mother was not committing cuckoldry!" Shizuru stood up, fists curling. Coi was wrong, he knew nothing!

"Shizuru," Coi said calmly, looking up to meet her eyes. "Have you ever heard the sad story of a boy named Barren Viola?"


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Magthor and Madness

_The ball of fay-fire wavered for a brief second before it blew itself out completely._ _Cursing, the young boy tried again, but the spell was not properly formed and a large ball of fire erupted from his hands and careered off, luckily flying into the pond._

"_Renny? What are you doing back there? More campfires? We've got the stove going if you've found anything to cook." A woman's voice came from inside the thatched cottage, loud and merry. She loved her only son, her sixth child. Before him stood five sisters, the eldest three had already married and moved out of the farm, though. The father, a merchant supplier of many high places in Windbloom, was away in the capital on business to the new king, Alturr. If she had read his hints well enough, the wife mused, then he was to be teaching Alturr's young son, Magthor, about farming and the importance of it to the Allied Lands' wellbeing. A prestigious job indeed!_

_Her son was secretive. After he had been attacked a few months ago by some forest wolves, he had become more and more reclusive, spending long parts of the day in the forest, coming back tired and infuriated._

"_Ma?" He asked, removing his boots at the entrance to the cottage, "What's for dinner?"_

_The mother smiled. "Stew. Ellie and Joanie just went to fetch some more wood."_

_The boy groaned. "We had stew yesterday. With all this stuff Da does in the capital, can't we afford better food?"_

"_Yes," she scolded him, rapping his knee with her wooden spoon. "But we save it, Renny, so that you can go off to live in the capital and make your own fortune, for your own family."_

It was cold. Very cold. The chilling breezes from the Sea of Rogues wafted off the coast, up the Tor Delta and into the marshes during the winter, freezing the ground solid. It made a nice change from the ever-present squelching feeling one got when stepping out over the area. Not that many people came here any more, to this place. Nobody wanted to, much. What was here, anyway? Swamp. Swamp and bad memories.

The cavern was, to every race, no matter how good their architecture, magnificent in every respect. At the very core of the crystal city, it was as wide as a field and the same in length. The floor ad been polished down so finely that it reflected the ceiling above it in stunning realism. Large, sharpened crystals, a light red in colour, hung what looked like precariously from the ceiling. The enchantment that kept them there was enduring, however. At the centre and the back of the chamber, the crystals had been exquisitely carved into a throne, a high as two men and as wide as one. This was the main underground chamber.

There were several more, but they had not been explored for many years. The main part of the city was on the surface, where those who had once dwelled here truly belonged. But war was war, and defense came at the price of freedom.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Water was not good. The chamber had been flooded before, and it would be if such leaks were not dried up. Without the Halfling magic, the whole city was disintegrating, slowly. Sinking beneath the marshes.

And the king of Roedrenmon could not allow such a thing to happen.

"_My I ask your name, fair lady?" His voice was deep and smooth, red eyes glinting under the chandeliers. From humble beginnings, he had quickly entered the life of the aristocrats of Windbloom, like he was born for it. He was shaking inside, however, asking this lady to dance tonight- that was a dare from his best friend. This party was for his Eighteenth birthday, and Magthor was having fun calling even more shots than usual. At his request, Barren had gone and asked Lady Erina's daughter, the object of fancy among many young men (and possibly some young women, if gossip was to be believed) of the high end of Windbloom. _

"_Fair? You do me too much flattery, sir. Nomako, that is my name. Yours?"_

_Barren's eyes widened. "Barren, madam. Your name is distinctly different from many we hear around here." He explained, rolling the name over his tongue, not for the first time._

_She smiled, a few strands of tawny hair falling from the fancy style she had that night. "My firstmother lived over the south sea. Mother always wanted to name me like them- she even taught me some of the symbols they use as words. I find it fascinating."_

"_Would you name your child by their conventions?" Barren asked, though he was taken aback at the boldness of his question. Courting was supposed to be very dry and stately._

"_Mm," Nomako nodded, more hair falling. "A girl, I'd name her after my firstmother. Shizuru. It's a beautiful name, I can write the symbol for it. Would you like to see?"_

_Drip. Drip. Drip._ Two leaks in one day were not good. In fact, it was difficult _not_ to get mad. But what good would anger do in this situation? None, that's what. The dripping soon stopped. The air inside the chamber was nice, warm enough but not stifling. With winter fast encroaching, there would be no need to venture out now. Not even if anyone came looking.

Women were stupid. Long ago, this was figured out. They would come, whether the weather was cold or not. They were obstinate and had no real plans: they were just acting straight into the hands of prophecy. Prophecy was a real bastard. Prophecy only ever made people know how they were to gruesomely die years before the time. Prophecy was useless. Women were, too. It made sense that women and prophecy would go together.

What was most disconcerting, however, was the state of things down south. Silly humans. Stupid women. Useless Prophecy.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

WATER!

STUPID STUPID WATER!

Fire. Fire was better. Fire made water evaporate, fire fixed things. Water just made you wet. Wet and cold. Water was stupid. Like humans and women and prophecy.

"_You bastard!" Magthor roared, jumping at Barren with his sword in hand, eyes blazing. "You slept with her. MY betrothed! The prince's betrothed! How could you! We were best friends! You PROMISED!"_

_Barren shrugged and picked some dirt from under his fingernails, thinking about what he would have for supper tonight. Magthor's sword rushed in from the right, but he grabbed in mid-swing and seared fire magic through it- he knew that his best friend would be using the thin cloth handle as opposed to a safer leather one that her had given the prince a few years ago. Though more out of spite than in thought for it's use, Magthor was still stupid. The sword became white-hot and melted on the spot, falling onto both Barren, who remained unscathed, and Magthor, who cried out in pain._

"_You're a mage! Bastard!"_

_Barren shrugged, feeling the liquid ooze over his hands harmlessly. "You did not need to know."_

"_Did you perhaps tell my betrothed? Whilst you and her lay together?"_

"_That was ONCE." Barren said, staring at the man of twenty-seven in front of him. He was not in good shape- his father was deathly ill with lungrot, and his mother was practically dead with grief. He and his fiancée were in the middle of a spat, mainly over the fact that Barren had slept with her a few weeks ago. If Magthor had one weakness, it was in bed. Apparently, Nomako was dissatisfied enough to seek relief in his more talented counterpart, Barren. "And besides, it's your fault. If you were better in the sack-"_

_Magthor, without sword, swung a punch. Barren caught it and came up underneath, hitting the wind out of the prince. They were lucky the courtyard was deserted- they would have started a brawl now if they had been in public._

"_For so many years, I took you under my wing and taught you about life in the City! You were nothing but an illiterate country bumpkin when you came here, and you repay all of this by sleeping with my _fiancée?_"_

"…_Yes. Seems about fair," Barren snickered. "Silly boy."_

_The loud thump of footsteps stopped Magthor in his retort. Two of his mother's closest friends from across the South Seas, Haruka and Yukino, both talented healers, looked tired and distraught._

"_You highness," Haruka breathed, regaining her breath. "Your father- the king- is dying. You have little lime left with him."_

_Haruka frowned, her words not having made perfect sense. Yukino's soft speech helped her. "Time, Haruka,"_

_Shameful about being corrected, she shrugged it off and led Magthor and Barren, conflict forgotten, up to the king's chamber._

The Halflings had always worshipped earthly deities. Shame, that. They didn't go up to the Plane of Divinity or Suspension, they just floated around aimlessly, unable to do anything but watch. The Halflings were a pack first and foremost, and would not leave without every single member of their race. That was why they remained in Roedrenmon.

Before, the spirits had just flitted around aimlessly, lost in eternal mourning for their homeland. Now, they had a purpose. Their spirits were condensed into little balls of fay-fire, like the ones that had been so vainly conjured back then, but now creating several hundred thousand was not taxing at all. They were companions, subjects answerable to the king of Roedrenmon. They fetched the little food their king needed, for after so long they were not entirely sure as to what he had become. Down here so long, mumbling to himself, occasionally shouting names and places and curses at the drip of water that came every day. The king scared them, but also gave them hope. Hope through fire and company, for when they had form, they could see each other. Communicate. Families, lovers, friends had all been reunited under the king. They owed eternal thanks to him, and this served him best as they could.

STUPID WATER!

SILLY BOY! ONCE! ONCE!

They all heard it. The King was shouting again, fire swirling around him, but doing no harm. He was inside a fireproof crystal prison, effectively. The spirits knew he had done it one purpose, that he had once hurt many people.

_His skin felt like it was going to burst from the pressure. His uncontrollable magic writhed and burned beneath it, causing Barren to cry out in pain. There was never any reprieve from these episodes, never anything strong enough to quell them. The thick jungle rippled round him and leaves began to droop in the increased heat. The mage kept going, though, kept stumbling back to his dwelling, to the square metre of home that kept him sane. And Barren knew that he was close to losing it. How easy would it be to let go, to give in to the magic? The pain would end. The burning would stop. But what of the world? He did not know how powerful he was, only that he was more skilled that any other mage in the Allied Lands, and probably the Host Tribes too. The Mid'Realm was not known for its mages, so that was why Barren had fled here- to hide where nobody could sense the massive leakage of his power._

_He had little contact with the races that lived here- he had fled up to the far northwest, where nobody lived. Once, he had ventured to En'Terrek. There was a child there, he sensed, with huge magic. He felt sorry for it- did they know that this madness, this pain, waited them? Could anything be done to prevent this?_

_No. It was the curse of Magic. The repercussions that came with power. The reason mages rarely graced their end years. _

_A bolt of searing fire coursed under Barren's skin and he staggered, then fell. Then another, and another. He opened his mouth to scream, but only a mushroom cloud of fire spurted out. His eyes, his ears, his nose- they all spewed fire agonizingly. It was too much. Too painful. Barren gave in, like he had promised never to do. He relaxed and let his mind be consumed in the flames. _

_When he woke up, things had changed. _

"_Where is my daughter?"_

A/N: Sorry that that had no Mai HiME characters or ShizNat in, but I promise that this story needs it. For development and background and stuff. But there will be ShizNat, I know you want it (most of you), but it will not be sudden 'bang, they're in love'. It will take a while.

Please review, it keeps me going!

~Emiri


End file.
